We need her
by MeetMeAtTheQuarry
Summary: Mike Wheeler didn't realise how much he needed her until she was gone. He knows that she's out there and he is going to do anything it takes to make her happy. But once he finds her, things take a turn for the worse and he finds himself in a hopeless nightmare. Complete!
1. chapter 1

**Hi guys! So this is my first FanFiction so it's most likely going to be cringey but I hope you enjoy it and I will try to post as often as I can! ️️️**

People don't say anything about it. In public at least. They know what happened in the fall of 1983 and they know that their small town of Hawkins will never be the same. They don't bother to tell newcomers what happened.. they're to scared too. They don't talk about the Byers boy and how he's more quite. They don't talk about Hawkins lab mysteriously shutting down. And they certainly don't talk about how distant the Wheeler boy is.They don't talk but they notice.

 **1984 part one**

It's been a year since the events of the fall of 1983. Mike lays awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He glances at his clock and it reads 3:15am. He frowns.

 _The world is mocking me._ He thinks.

 _Everywhere I look and everything I do I see her.._

He rubs his eyes and reaches for his walkie talkie. He calls Lucas.

"Lucas, are you awake? Over."

No response.

"Lucas. You there?"

Static.

"Huh- Wha.. Mike it's 3 in the morning." A groggy Lucas mutters.

"Sorry, I just-" Mike stops, he tries to swallow the lump in his throat.

"You thinking of her again?" Lucas asks quietly. Mike would call him when he couldn't sleep.

"Yea.. do you ever wonder what happened?"

"Mhmm"

"She couldn't have just disappeared completely right? I mean she could've-"

"Mike." Lucas stopped him.

"Look, we don't know what happened and I'm not gonna tell you that she's gone because I don't know that. I've learned not to say things that I don't know are completely true. But I do know that it's been a year. An entire year and nothing has happened. Doesn't that say something?" Lucas asked.

Mike looked at the ceiling and let out a sigh.

"Yea... I guess. Thanks Lucas, over and out"

"Anytime, over and out."

Mike put the walkie talkie back on his nightstand. What Lucas said circled in his mind. He didn't want to believe she was gone. He didn't want to think about if she was alone. He just wanted her to be happy. She deserves all the happiness in the world. He lay back down and closed his eyes.

"Mike! Time to get up!" Karen wheeler called up the stairs.

Mike rolled over and yawned. His clock read 7:00am. He groaned and wiped the tiredness from his eyes. He quickly got ready and went down stairs.

"Morning!" His mom said as he walked in. She was making pancakes with baby Holly on her hip. Holly laughed as Karen put whipped cream on her nose.

Ted wheeler was fidgeting with the TV antenna.

"What are you doing dad?" Mike asked as he sat at the table with his pancakes.

"TV started sparking and showing static and I want to watch the news." He said grumpily as he moved the antennas around.

"Time for school lets go!" Karen ushered her kids out of the door. Mike got onto his bike.

"Have a good day!" Karen called as he biked away.

Mike was lost in thought as Lucas and Dustin appeared next to him.

"Hey mike!" Dustin said, giving him a smile.

"Oh, hey guys." Mike said, looking a little startled.

"Looks like you're in your only little world, Wheeler." Lucas said as they pulled up to the school.

"Uh. I didn't get much sleep last night." Mike said as he locked his bike at the bike rack.

"Well if it isn't my favorite nerds." A voice came from behind them.

"Max!" Dustin said, he greeted her with their signature hand shake.

"Good to see you guys, wheres Will?" She asked as they started going into the school.

"Oh he's having one of his episodes." Lucas said, frowning.

"Ah, I see. You guys ever figure out what's wrong with him? I mean you could've found something over thanksgiving break right?" Max asked.

"Nothing. We researched so much my brain is practically fried. All we know is that it's not good." Mike said, rubbing his face.

"Hm, how about we talk about this later? At Mikes?" Dustin suggested.

The others agreed and hurried off to class.

It's cold. She's never been this cold before and she hates it. She missed the warmth of her world. She missed the food and she missed her friends. Especially Mike. She wanted to hold his hand and eat eggos. She lay in the fort he made her. The blanket was draped over the entrance, her only protection.

"Mike.." she cried softly, tears falling down her face.

"Mike. Mike. Help!" She cries louder, clapping a hand over her mouth after realising how loud she had yelled.

She knew that there was something else out there. She was scared and alone. She cried harder. She hates the dark. She just wanted to go home.

 **That was part one of 1984! I hope you liked it and I'm going to have every chapter be a part of a year. More to come, I have so many ideas! ️**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! This is chapter 2 and I still have so many ideas for this story so please stay tuned!**

He barely had time to react. Troy and James shoved him up against the lockers. Mike was alone since he stayed to talk to Mr.Clarke. He wildly looked around and panicked when he saw no one but his enemies.

"Well if it isn't Frogface, all alone I see. What? Your freak of a girlfriend couldn't join you?" Troy mocked.

Mike pushed off James and punched Troy in the face.

"Don't you dare talk about her you asshole." His voice was low and full of anger.

"Oh! Little Mikey finally grew some balls!" Troy laughed as he punched Mike in the jaw.

Mike fell against the lockers as his head spun.

"Or not." Troy said, kicking him in the gut.

Mike groaned and tried to stand, only to be pushed down my James.

"Hey! What are you boys doing?" A loud voice echoed through the halls.

Mr. Clarke ran over to the boys and pointed at Troy and James, "Meet me in my classroom now." His voice was stern and angry.

Troy rolled his eyes and stalked off with James.

"You okay?" Mr. Clarke asked as he helped mike up.

"Yeah, thanks Mr. Clarke. Um I should go now, bye!" Mike ran outside, embarrassed that he couldn't stick up for himself.

"Jesus, Mike what happened?" Dustin asked, pointing at the purplish bruise forming on mikes jaw.

"Nothing." Mike muttered, getting on his bike.

"Troy." Lucas mumbled, glaring at the school.

"Hey if you want me to beat his ass, I'll gladly do it." Max said, grabbing her skateboard.

"I'm fine guys, really. He was just being Troy." Mike said as they rode away from the school.

She felt his pain. Was that normal? No. Nothing was normal. She didn't like it. She hated knowing that he was hurt and that she couldn't do anything. She wanted to let him know that she's here and that she wants to go home. Eleven strokes the tattoo on her wrist with her thumb.

"I can do this." She whispered.

Ever since she got into the upside down she'd been trying to break the barriers between the worlds. Her powers were off but she never gave up. Today was the day. Today she would finally be able to contact them. The real world. Her friends. Him.

She smiled softly and concentrated on the one thing she wanted most.

"Like I was saying DnD is the best game ever and you should play with us more." Dustin was saying to Max.

"Ok you nerds, I'll play with you in your nerdathon." She laughed.

Mike wasn't really paying attention. His jaw ached and he still felt embarrassed. He had had a growing headache ever since they left school. A sharp pain made him yell out and stop his bike.

"Mike? Dude, what's wrong?" Lucas stopped his bike and looked at mike in concern.

Mike only shook his head and leaned forward on his handle bars. He held his head and bit his lip to keep form yelling out again. His head felt like it was going to explode.

"Mike? Mike! MIKE." His friends screams faded away as he fell to the ground, growing colder.

She felt tears roll down her face. She knew it would hurt him. It hurt her physically and emotionally. El opened her eyes and lifted the blanket that was covering the entrance to her fort slowly. She gasped. There he was, lying unconscious on the dark, slimey floor of his basement. She crawled towards him and shook his shoulder.

"Mike? Mike, wake up. Mike, please." She begged softly.

He muttered El.

"Yes? Mike I'm here, wake up!" She said louder, sitting him up.

He opened his eyes and gasped. Their eyes locked and he already felt the tears coming.

There She was. Sitting right in front of him.

"El?!" He cried, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Mike." She sighed, pulling him close. He was warm and real.

"But, how? How are you- how am I- what? Oh god El!" Mike stuttered, looking her over and over.

"I'm here." She said softly.

He grabbed her hand tightly, "You're alive! but how do I get to you?" He said, urgency in his voice.

"Portal. It's open, I opened it for you. In the woods- uh Mirkwood?" She explained in the best way she could.

He nodded, "Okay, we will come just hold on. I'll get you home, I promise." He said and kissed her cheek.

She smiled, "Promise."

 **Ok, ok I fall to fluff when I talk about mileven. I promise it won't be all fluff and I hoped you enjoyed! ️**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys! I've been enjoying writing these so much and I still have A LOT of ideas! I really hope you like it!**

 **1984 part 3**

OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod!" Dustin was yelling as he paced next to Lucas who was staring in shock at Mike.

"Dustin! Dustin he- he's transparent! You- you can see through him!" Lucas yelled, panic rising in his voice.

Dustin stopped pacing and stared in horror at his friends body. It was grey and green and terrifyingly transparent.

"Ooohhh shit, wha- what do we do?!" He cries as he fell to his knees besides Mike.

"I don't know! Hopefully Max finds someone because this is insane!" Lucas yelled back, his entire body shaking.

"OH!" Dustin yelled, pointing at Mike.

He was no longer transparent and was getting back to his normal skin color. His eyes snapped open and he breathed in quickly.

"Miiiike, oh God Miiikkkkee!" Dustin cried as he cradled mike like a baby.

"Dustin! Pull yourself together you emotional muffin!" Lucas yelled.

"Wha- What happened?" Mike asked as Dustin released him.

"Mike, Jesus man. Your were all see through and dead looking..." Lucas explained, staring at mike.

"Oh my god." Mike said, rubbing his head and smiling.

"Wh- Why are you smiling? You- you were all dead looking.." Dustin stuttered.

"You won't believe this but it was El. Guys she's alive!" Mike said. "She's alive and she needs our help, now."

"Eleven? She's alive?! But how and what happened to you?" Dustin said, full of confusion and excitement.

"She reached out to me with her powers and took me to the Upside down." Mike explained as he lifted his bike upright.

"Of course she's in the upside down!" Lucas said, slapping his forehead with his palm.

"Mental." Dustin muttered, getting on his bike.

"We need to go to Mirkwood, she said there's a portal in the woods- hey where's Max?" Mike asked.

"Oh she went to get help when you... left." Lucas said, getting on his bike.

"Should we wait?" Dustin asked.

"El needs us now, we can't wait any longer." Mike said, heading off towards Mirkwood.

His friends followed quickly, anxious to help there friend.

Max ran to Mikes house. It was the closest to where they were. She sprinted up the drive way and started banging on the door.

"MRS. WHEELER?? NANCY!! OPEN UP PLEASE!!" She screamed.

The door swung open to reveal Nancy.

"Max! What's wrong?!" She said, concern in her voice.

"It's mike he- he collapsed and he's all transp- transparent and grey and he needs help!" Max explained quickly.

"Oh my god!" Nancy gasped, "take me there!"

The two sprinted down the street to where the boys last were.

She lay in the fort, the blanket covering the entrance again. All she could think about was Mike. She was relieved for the first time in a long time. Seeing him made her feel happy again. Then that happiness changed to terror. She was so lost in happiness with seeing Mike that she forgot to warn him about the monster that she heard every night. She sat up.

 _Oh no. Oh no what did I do? He doesn't know about... It._ She though, covering her face with her hands.

She needed to tell him, now.

The boys ran through the woods as fast as they could.

"Look for any sign of the portal!" Mike yelled as they ran.

He's never moved so fast and his adrenaline was pumping. He stopped so quickly that he fell when his head gave a sharp jolt of pain.

He groaned and held his head tightly.

 _Be careful. There's another monster Mike, I'm sorry! Not safe._

A scared voice echoed through his mind.

"El?" He whispered.

He looked up and saw it. Just a couple of yards ahead of him was the portal. It took up the bototm of the tree and slime oozed out of it.

"Guys! It's here!" He yelled, struggling to his feet.

"Holy shit!" Dustin gasped as he caught sight of the portal.

"Oh... wow." Lucas said, staring at the portal with great interest.

"Ok. Ok we're doing this ok, whoo! Let's go." Dustin said, shaking his hands and jumping from foot to foot.

"Wait, El said that there was another monster. And she said it's not safe so we have to be careful and quite. She's at the upside down version of my house, in her fort so we have to get there as fast as possible." Mike said as the dropped their backpacks by the tree.

"We're coming El." Mike whispered as the crawled through the portal.

 **Chapter 3 complete! I might post the next chapter today or tomorrow so stay tuned! Hope you enjoyed and maybe predict what you think is going to happen? :D**

 **Bye!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! So I noticed that if you read this through the website then some words are missing and it doesn't make sense or some parts so that's annoying but it's fine through the app. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter!**

 **1984 part 4**

Max and Nancy ran down the street as fast as they could. Max stopped dead in her tracks when they reached their destination.

"They were right here." She said, pointing at the edge of the street.

"Oh god. Where could they have gone?" Nancy asked, rubbing her head.

"What if something happened to them? We need to get the chief." Max said, heading sick up the street.

Nancy stared at the ground then hurried after Max.

It was dark and probably the scariest place he had ever been. White specks floated in the air and slime was absolutely everywhere.

"Jesus, I can't believe that anyone can last a day down here." Dustin muttered as the walked through the ooze.

"Come on, we have to get to El." Mike said, leading the way.

A distant scream made them stop dead in their tracks.

"Shit..." Lucas whispered, looking behind them.

"Go go go." Mike whispered quickly, breaking into a sprint.

"OhgodOhgodOhgod!" Dustin whisper yelled as the ran.

The screams grew louder as the boys terror grew. There was a loud snap and a tree was sent flying inches above their heads, landing right in front of them. Mike skidded to a stop and fell, his feet kicking the tree.

"Shit! Go go!" Lucas yelled as he helped Mike up.

The climbed over the tree and ran through the woods. The screams only grew louder and angrier. Another tree flew in front of them, a branch hitting Lucas in the shoulder. He screamed and fell to the ground.

"Lucas!" Mike yelled, running over to his friend.

He had a gash in his shoulder that was bleeding, but it wasn't to severe.

"Come on!" Dustin yelled as he helped up Lucas.

They continued to sprint through the forest until they reached the road. They turned around and saw it emerging from the trees.

It towered over them and had multiple heads and a scaly body. It screached and lunges at the boys.

"GO GO GO!" Mike screamed as they sprinted up the street.

The monster screamed louder and shook the ground as it ran after them. It's long arms lunging forward as it chases the boys.

One of its arms knocked Dustin off the road and sent him flying into the trees.

"NO!" Mike yelled as he caught site of his friend laying unconscious.

The monster lunges forward again and sent Lucas flying in the opposite direction. He rolled into a ditch and lay there, barely being able to catch his breath.

"RUN!" He yelled at Mike.

Mike felt the terror rising in his throat as he ran for his life. He could feel the monster right behind him. It reached its long arm out and grabed his leg. He screamed and couldn't breathe as the monster lurched him upwards.

"NO!" He yelled as he caught sight of the monster. He dangled above its multiple head as it heals him in the air.

All of a sudden it started to cry out. It writhed and shrieked in pain. Mike caught a glimpse of what was causing the monsters pain.

"El?" He whispered.

She twiddled her thumbs as she waited for her friends. She thought about going out and meeting them at the portal but decided against it. She sat on her fort and thought about how nice it would be to finally be back home. With her friends. With Mike. She smiled softly. She was still on edge as she was alone in the Upside Down with a dangerous monster. She should have told them more about it. She prayed that nothing was going to happen while they're here. Nothing had so far, so why would anything happen now? Well, of course something did.

She hears the familiar screams and her body went rigid. It couldn't be out now, of all times. She got out of the fort and opened the back door. She walked outside, fear rising in her throat. It's screams echoed through the empty neighborhood. She walked to the front of Mikes house and froze in her tracks. She saw it, just down the street.

 _No. Not now please. Not them._

She though as she walked towards it slowly.

What she saw almost made her cry out. Her friends were laying on either side of the road. She saw Dustin and Lucas, just laying there. Terror rose up in her when she couldn't see mike at first. But when she did, that terror changed to furious anger. He was dangling above the monster. It was hurting him. She glared at it and stuck out her hand.

 _Don't you dare._

She began to crush it from the inside. She felt herself growing weaker but pushed through it, he needed her.

"El?" A soft whisper drifted to her.

She looked up and saw Mike staring at her. She nodded and looked back at the monster.

 _This is ends now._

He knew what she was doing. He knew what it would to do her. Yet, he couldn't do anything about it, he was powerless. He writhed around in the monsters grip. It's claws digging into his leg and his side. He tried to get away but that only made its claws go deeper into him. He cried out. He felt weak and he hated it. He needed to help her but he couldn't. The monster gave an earsplitinf shriek and shrunk down to the ground. It wouldn't release its grip. Mike screamed and clawed at the monsters hand. He punched and writhed around but that was worse than doing nothing. He looked at El, who had fallen to her knees. Blood fell from her ears and nose. He reached out to her like she had to him. He had to give her strength. They were connected and he had felt it ever since she contacted him. He pushed energy into her. Gave her strength. She stared at him, confusion and emotion in her eyes. She stood and looked more powerful than before. It was working. She screamed at the monster as she crushed it. It gave a final shriek and then fell to the ground, dropping his prey. Mike smiled at El before slipping into unconsciousness.

 **Ok! That was something, right? I hope you liked this chapter and I'll write more soon! Bye!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi guys! This might be an emotional chapter but I hope you still enjoy it!**

 **1984 part 5**

Dustin was the first to gain consciousness. The moment he woke up he knew that something was wrong, horribly wrong. He sat up slowly and rubbed his head, looking around for his friends. He saw Lucas in a ditch and ran over to him.

"Lucas! Wake up!" He pleaded as he shook the boy.

Lucas moaned and opened his eyes.

"Wha- what happened?" He asked as he sat up and held his shoulder.

"I don't know but something's wrong." Dustin said, looking up he road.

He spotted El laying in the middle of the road and motioned for Lucas to follow him as he ran up the street to her.

"El! Oh my god, El!" He yelled as he kneeled down next to her.

"Holy shit." Lucas said as he caught sight of her.

She was thinner and covered in grime. Dried blood shown from under her nose and ears.

"El?" Dustin asked, shaking her slightly.

She woke with a gasp and sat up quickly.

"Oh!" Lucas yelped, jumping back in surprise.

"El! You're okay!" Dustin cheered as he hugged her.

She smiled and hugged back. She pulled away quickly as she remembered what just happened. She looked around wildly and felt her stomach drop at what she saw. The monster had disappeared but that's not what made her cry out. What she saw was horrible.

Dustin and Lucas followed her gaze.

"Oh god no. Please no." Lucas whispered as they ran over to he body.

El cried out again and kneeled next to him.

Mike. He was laying unconscious and was barely breathing. He had gashes on his side and down his right leg. A pool of blood surrounded him.

"No, no Mike! Mike, come on!" Dustin yelled as he fell to his knees.

Lucas checked his pulse and shuddered,

"He's breathing, but barely." He said, chocking on his words.

El couldn't look away. He was deathly pale and she could still see tear streaks on her face. The right side of his body was drenched in blood.

 _I'm not loosing you, not again._

She pushed energy into her hands and slammed them down on his chest. His body jerked but he didn't wake. She did it again and again and again. The same result. She cried, "Please! Mike Please, stay with me!" She continued to send energy through him.

"Come one Mike!" Dustin yelled.

Eleven slammed her hands down on his chest one last time. She leaned back and sobbed into her hands.

"MIKE!" She screamed, sobbing louder.

His eyes flew open and he gasped. He leaned over and coughed violently, his entire body shaking.

"MIKE!!" They all yelled.

El leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him.

He sighed and held her, breathing heavily.

"Quit almost dying man!" Lucas cried, hugging his friend.

Mike winced in pain and they pulled back from their group hug.

"We gotta go, now. He needs help." Dustin said.

"Ok, Mike, we're going to help you up and it's probably going to feel like hell so I'm sorry in advance." Lucas said, slipping his arm under Mike. Dustin grabbed Mike from the other side and the two lifted him off the ground, as gently as they could.

Mike cried out in pain and bit his lip to keep from crying. The two boys put his arms around their shoulders. Mike hopped on one leg and winced with every step.

El hated seeing him like this. The cold air made it even harder to breathe and all she could do was stare at him and only focus on him.

"Okay, we need to get back to the portal as fast as possible, but it's going to hurt Mike. We still don't know where that thing went and I really don't want to take any chances." Lucas said as they began their very painful trek through the woods.

"Yes chief. Yes, okay please hurry." Nancy hung up the phone and rubbed her head.

"He's on his way. I'm so worried, god why do they always have to get themselves in trouble?"

"You think I could contact them? I have a super com, maybe I could find them?" Max suggested.

"Yes! Oh my god that's brilliant." Nancy exclaimed.

Max dug through her bag until she pulled out the walkie talkie.

"Guys? It's max, is anyone there? Guys please answer. Over." She spoke into the super com.

Static.

"Hello? Mike? Dustin? Lucas? Anyone there??" She asked more urgently.

More static.

"Dammit!" Max yelled.

The supercom gave off more static and then a low growl erupted from its speakers.

"What. The hell. Was that?" Nancy asked, fear in her voice.

"I don't know.." max whispered, fidgeting with the knobs.

"H- hello?" She asked quietly.

A screech erupted from the speakers, causing max to drop the walkie talkie and jump back in surprise.

"Oh no. That sounds familiar. To god damn familiar." Nancy shuddered.

"I swear if they're in the upside down I'm going to kill them." Max said, grabbing for the super com.

"How.. how could they be in the upside down?" Nancy asked, her voice shaking.

"Uh well when I left to get help Mike looked all green and grey which I think is what the upside down consisted of from what they've told me. Him and El were close right? Maybe she contacted him somehow and they went to go get her?" Max suggested.

"That actually makes sense." Nancy said.

A loud knock on the door made them jump.

"Hey! It's the chief!" Hopper yelled.

"Oh thank god!" Nancy said as she opened the door.

"They're in the Upside Down!" Max and Hopper exclaimed at the same time.

They all stared at each other.

"How do you know that?" Max asked.

"No time to explain, we gotta go get the kids before something happens to them." Hopper said, heading towards his car.

"Ok... we're... almost there." Lucas panted as they stumbled through the woods.

Sweat rolled down Mike's face despite the cold. He felt an insane amount of pain with each step. He was so light headed from the loss of blood that the world was actually spinning. He urged himself on. For his friends. For El. He looked over at her. Her face was hallow and she was extremely pale. Grime and scratches covered her. She looked like she hadn't slept the whole time she was down here. Mike shuddered and looked down at his side. He groaned as he saw his blood covering Lucas as well. He couldn't look up, he had nothing left.

"Guys... wait.." he barely muttered before falling out of conciousness.

"Mike!" Dustin yelled as he caught his friend.

Mikes head fell back and his eyelids fluttered.

"Oh god. This isn't good, we have to get back now." Lucas said, looking around.

"Portal." El said, pointing at the tree. She kneeled next to mike, all she wanted to do was sleep and get home. Her energy was drained and she felt as though she barely had enough strength to breathe.

A low growl echoed through the woods.

"Oh god no, please no." Dustin whimpered.

The growls grew until they were terrifying shrieks.

"GO!" Lucas yelled.

Dustin and Lucas lifted mike and ran to the portal. Lucas turned and saw El struggling to her feet.

"Get him through the portal." He commanded Dustin.

Dustin looked at him with a confused look on his face and then helped Mike through the portal.

Lucas ran back and lifted El. She barely weighed anything and he quickly brought her to the portal as the shrieking grew closer.

"Shit!" Lucas yelled as he caught sight of the portal.

It was closing.

He pushed El towards the portal and looked back.

That's when he saw it.

The monster was running towards them, it's long scaled arms outstretched.

"GO GO GO!" Lucas yelled as he and El crawled through the portal.

Warmth spread across her face as she entered the real world again. She would have gladly fallen asleep right there if it wasn't for the horrible shrieking that erupted behind her.

She turned and saw Lucas jump out of the portal. It was no longer closing but growing as the monster tried to get through.

"ShitShitShit." Dustin was saying, pulling Mike away from the portal.

El faced the portal and stuck out her hand.

 _You've crossed the line._

She screamed as she closed the portal, falling to her knees. The monsters hand plunged through the portal and grabbed around wildly. She crushed it as the portal closed around it. It's screams echoed through the woods as it's arm was cut off. Her screaming ceased and she fell back. She caught sight of Mike as she fell.

 _Be safe._

"Can you go faster??" Max asked, becoming anxious.

"I'm going as fast as I can kid. The portal is in the woods by that place they called Mirkwood." Hopper explained as he turned on the street. He skidded to a hault and jumped out of the car. The group ran into the woods, yelling for the lost boys.

"MIKE? LUCAS? DUSTIN??" There screams echoed through the woods.

Their stomachs dropped as a terrifying shriek filled the woods.

"Shit." Hopper muttered, now quietly moving forward.

Another scream was heard but not by that thing. It was a girl.

"ELEVEN?!" Max yelled.

"SHHH." Hopper waved his hand at her.

"Hello?" A voice made its way to them. This time it was a boys voice.

"That's Lucas!" Max exclaimed. She bolted forward, following the cries for help.

"There they are!" She yelled, sprinting towards them. Nancy and Hopper followed her.

"Oh.. no.." Max whispered as she caught sight of the scene.

Dustin was trying to wake up a very bloody and very hurt looking Mike as Lucas crouched over a small girl that was curled up by a tree that looked like it had been blown up.

"Oh thank god!" Nancy exclaimed as she came from behind Max.

She cried out as she saw what happened.

"Mike?!" She yelled, stepping forward slowly at first and then sprinting to her little brother. She gasped as she saw what had happened to him.

"Oh no.. no no..." she cried as she held him.

Max ran to Dustin and started hysterically asking questions.

Hopper stood frozen at what he saw. He edged his way to the girl.

"Oh no." He whispered.

Lucas looked up at him, tears covering his face.

"DO SOMETHING! PLEASE!" He yelled, holding El's hand.

Hopper pulled out his communicater.

"Flo, this is Hop I need an ambulance now." He yelled at the speakers.

"Ok, we need to get them to the road, an ambulance is coming." Lucas bent down and picked up El as hopper ran over and gently lifted Mike, blood already covering his uniform.

"Come on kid, don't die on me now." He mutters as they ran through the woods.

 **Ok! Sorry if that was bad, I struggled with this as I had many different scenarios play out before I chose this one. I hope you enjoyed and i will try to post again soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! I wrote this pretty late so there's bound to be mistakes but I hope you still enjoy it!!**

 **1984 part 6**

Will looked up at the hospital door as he heard yelling and the wheels of hospital beds whizing past. He leaned back in his bed. He had been in the hospital all break due to an extreme episode. He wasn't scared anymore, just annoyed. He wanted to be normal again and see his friends. He looked up as the nurse walked in, checking a clipboard.

"Hi, Will. How are you doing?" She smiled at him.

"Fine." He answered, looking at the door.

"What's going on out there?" He asked.

"Oh the chief brought in some kids from the woods and they're hurt pretty bad. One is hurt more than the other so the doctors are trying to help them as fast as possible." She responded, checking his monitor.

Will heard familiar voices echo down the hall.

"I think... I think those are my friends." He said, pointing at the door.

"Oh? Would you like me to get them?" She asked.

Will nodded.

She smiled at him and went out the door.

She returned with three kids trailing behind her.

"Will!" They exclaimed, running over to him.

"I'll be outside of you need anything." The nurse said.

"Hey guys. How're you doing?" Will asked, after they all hugged.

"Not good..." Lucas said.

"Why? What happened?" Will asked, concern in his face.

"Umm... well.." Dustin trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

They told him everything that happened from the ghost like Mike to the ride to the hospital.

Wills face changed from concern, to terror and back to concern.

"Oh my god.." he muttered, running his hands through his hair.

"Yea, we don't know if they're gonna make it.. El might but I don't know about Mike.. that was a lot of blood.." max said, her voice shaking.

"They're gonna be fine.. they have to be." Wills voice cracked.

"Let's hope so.." Lucas said, sitting in a chair.

The group settled in and sat in silence, to scared and worried for their friends.

"Nancy? Oh my god!" Karen yelled as she rushed over and embraced her daughter.

Nancy cried into her mothers shoulder and clung to her.

"What happened?? Is this your blood? Where's mike?" Karen frantically asked as she looked over Nancy.

"It's... Mikes. Mom, oh god.." Nancy cried as she broke down.

"Shhh hey it's ok... hes.. he's going to get through this.." Karen whispered, trying to convince both Nancy and herself.

"Mom there was so much blood. It was horrible.." Nancy whimpered.

Hopper busted through the doors with Joyce following him.

"What happened Hop?" Joyce yelled behind him.

"El's back and Mikes dying!" He yelled back, leaning against the wall in the empty hallway.

"Wha- What?" Joyce stuttered.

"The kids found El and Mike got hurt bad." Hopper muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Oh no. Oh god.." Joyce muttered, covering her face with her hands.

"Everything has gone to shit Joyce!" Hopper yelled, throwing his hands up in the air.

"What are we going to tell the hospital about el? She doesn't have an identity!" Joyce said frantically.

"We could say she's one of our kids.." Hopper suggested.

Joyce stared at him. They had been seeing each other ever since the events of last year. They could pull it off.

"Okay... El Byers. That's what we'll say but what about-"

"I got it figured out Joyce just go see her!" Hopper snapped.

Joyce stared in shock at him then headed down the hallway to El's room.

El didn't like hospitals. They reminded her of the lab. She couldn't remember anything from when she collapsed. She was told she was exhausted and under fed. All she wanted to do was go home and see Mike. Oh no. Mike.

 _Oh no oh no..._

Joyce opened the door slowly.

"Hey El." She said, making her way to her.

El relaxed a bit when she saw her. She hugged her and savoured her motherly comfort.

"I'm so sorry about what happened, honey." Joyce said quietly.

Tears filled El's eyes and she looked down at her tightly folded hands.

"Oh no don't cry. It's going to fine honey.. we're gonna fix this." Joyce said, trying to comfort her.

"I'm sorry." El whispered.

"What? Why are you sorry?"

"It's my fault.. I didn't warn them soon enough.. They got hurt... He got hurt bad.." she whispered, starting to cry.

"No no, oh no El it's not your fault. None of this is your fault and don't you ever think that again. It's that awful lab! They did this and they're to blame. Your a good kid El. Don't blame yourself, ever." Joyce said, pulling her into a tight hug.

El sighed into her shoulder and sunk into her.

He thought he was dead. Could you even be alive if you were in this much pain? He didn't know where he was or what happened. All he knew was that he was dying. Actually dying. He couldn't do anything, he couldn't even breathe. He heard muffled voices but was blinded by pain. Mike faded in and out of consciousness. His heart was racing and he couldn't breathe anymore. He was scared. He couldn't hold on anymore. He let out what little breath he had left and let go.

 **DONT WORRY. I'll try to write again soon and I hope you enjoyed!!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! I've been sick recently and I'm currently still feeling bad as I'm writing this so it might be bad, idk. Anyway hope you enjoy :)**

 **1984 part 7**

Nancy clung to her mother in the corner of the frantic hospital room. The doctors rushed around her brother and the monitor was racing. She could barely stand and her face was painted with tears. The monitor practically screamed at her as the insanely fast beeping slowed to one long, deathly sound. Her mother screamed and fell against the wall. The doctors yelled orders at each other as the monitor continued the horrible sound. The doctors pounded the defibrillators onto his chest repeatedly. Each time his body jolted and fell, Nancy crumpled more and more. Her mother was sobbing into her and she felt as though her world was falling apart. One last shock and everybody held their breath.

The relief Nancy felt as her brother breathed in a gasp of air was incredible. The doctors gave home a breathing mask and steadied the monitor. He was unconscious but he was alive.

 **El**

Joyce came into El's room after hearing about Mike.

"He's alive, El." She said, holding El's hand. El sighed in relief and gave a little laugh.

"Can I see him?" She asked.

Joyce frowned, "he's still unconscious and the doctors are only allowing family visits right now. He lost so much blood that they're trying to find someone with the same blood type as him to give him more blood so he'll wake up." She responded.

El slouched down. She wanted to see him and make sure he was okay. Tears pricked her eyes.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. You can see him the moment they say it's okay, alright?" Joyce assured her.

El nodded slightly.

 **Will**

Will waited impatiently in his hospital bed. His friends paced in the room and muttered things under their breath. Lucas had left because the doctors needed to check his shoulder so the others waited in silence.

"This just isn't right!" Will said, throwing his hands up in the air.

"No kidding." Dustin said, rubbing his head.

"Why us? How come this crap keeps happening to us? What did we do?" Will asked.

"We became friends with a telepathic girl who is wanted by the government. But that doesn't explain why the monsters keep coming after us too." Dustin said.

"The monsters... and El.. they're probably connected." Max suggested.

"We know that... I just want things to go back to normal.." will said quietly.

"Sorry guys." Max said, staring at her friends.

 **Mike**

He felt the tension in the room the moment he gained conciousness. The pain running through his body was practically blinding and he felt like he was suffocating.

"Mike?" His sisters voice seemed distant.

He slowly opened his eyes and blinked at the light. He breathed in slowly and looked at his sister. Her eyes were red and her hair was messy.

"Mike?" She asked again, holding his hand.

"Hey." He said, his voice raspy.

"Hey." Nancy let out a soft laugh.

"Jesus, Mike." She said, running a hand through her hair.

"What? Were you scarreed?" He asked jokingly.

"Hell yeah I was. You stopped breathing and we had to get more blood for you and we thought you were going to die for hours!" She exclaimed, tears reaching her eyes.

Mike frowned and squeezed her hand.

"Hey, Im okay.." He whispered, searching her face.

Nancy stared at him, "You're only 14 Mike.. this crap shouldn't be happening to you! To anybody!"

"I know.. I know.." he muttered, leaning against his pillow.

"Michael!" Karen burst through the doors and ran over to her son.

"Oh Mike, oh baby.." she whispered as she embraced him.

Mike hugged his mother back with his good arm as tightly as he could.

Karen leaned back and brushed his hair out of his eyes to get a better look at him.

"Oh mike..." she whispered.

She hugged him tighter and they stayed like that for a while until the doctors came in.

"We need to run a few more tests and then he should be open for visitors. But not to many, he's still in a bad state." The doctor explained.

Mike noticed an odd atmosphere with the doctors and stayed distant from them. He didn't like them and wanted to stay away from them. Most doctors he knew had kind faces and were friendly. These people seemed stern and... strange.

 **Ok! That's chapter 7 and I think the next chapter will be exciting so stay tuned ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! Who's ready for chapter 8?? I hope you guys enjoy it!!**

 **1984 part 8**

 **El**

El was pacing her small room. She needed to see him. When she saw him in the Upside down it broke her heart. She hadn't been able to properly see him for an entire year and then when she did... it was devistating. She wringed her hands around and around.

"El!" Joyce said as she burst into the room.

El looked at her quickly.

"He's awake."

 **Mike**

The warm, thick bandages that were wrapped around his middle and leg were extremely tight. He tried to find a comfortable position but that resulted in a sharp pain running through his side. He bit his lip to keep from crying out. He couldn't stand being here. He needed to see his friends. To see El. He couldn't imagine what state she was in and could only pray that she was okay.

The door burst open and he barely had time to look at who it was before they were hugging him.

"El?!" He hugged her with his good arm tightly and breathed her in. She was real and she was here.

"Mike." El sighed as she pulled back, holding his hand. Her eyes went straight to the sling on his arm to the thick bandages going down his body. Tears pricked her eyes.

"I'm sorry.." she whispered.

"What? El, you don't have to be sorry! You saved me. You saved all of us. El?" Mike said, looking her over.

She looked up at him.

"I missed you. I missed you a lot." He said, holding her hand tighter.

She smiled, "Me too." She hugged him again but pulled back quickly when he gasped in pain.

"It's okay! I'm fine... it's just uh it's fine." Mike stuttered, trying to reassure her.

"Mike..."

"Yeah?"

"Friends.. don't lie." She said softly.

He grinned. "I know but it's going to get better. Now that you're back. I promise." Mike said.

 **Will**

"Guys!" Lucas busted into the room after his visit with the doctor.

"Yeah??" Dustin asked, jumping to his feet.

"Mike's awake!" He exclaimed.

"Holy shit!! Can we see him??" Max asked.

Lucas nodded and with the doctors permission they left to see their friends.

 **Mike**

His friends bursted through the doors and practically attacked him.

"Dude!! We thought you were a goner!"

"Jesus you look like hell!"

"Stop frickin almost dying on us Mike!"

His friends voices blended together until they were all laughing.

"Oh, El!" Dustin said, hugging the girl who was sitting on the edge of Mikes bed.

"You're okay!" Lucas cheered.

"Okay guys, give us some room!" Mike chuckled, holding his side.

"So, this is the famous Eleven?" Max asked, stepping forward.

"Oh yeah, El this is Max. Max this is El." Dustin said.

"Hi." El said quietly.

Max grinned, "Hi."

"Excuse me.." will said, pushing his way through his friends so he could see El.

"Will." El smiled, reaching out to hug him.

"Hey El. Thank you. You know for... everything I guess." Will smiled as they released their hug.

"Well, now that we've all said hi.. how the hell are you alive? I mean it's incredible that you survived for a year down there!" Dustin said.

"Yeah, how did you do that?" Lucas asked.

Mike looked at El, knowing this would be a touchy subject.

"A box... in the woods. It had food." She explained.

"Wha..." Dustin scratched his head.

"It was.. connected. I think." El searched for the right words.

"So it was like a tiny portal? Like there was a version of the box in each dimension and whatever was put into that... also showed up in the upside down?" Max asked.

"How the hell is it that you seem to know more about the Upside down than us?" Lucas asked, chuckling.

Max shrugged and waved her hands, "Im a nerd."

"So that means... someone was filling the box for you.. they must have known you were alive." Mike said, his face has gone pale.

"Simone knew... this whole time someone knew!" Dustin threw his hands up in the air.

Mike shook his head. He was furious that he didn't know. Someone knew this entire time and how come he couldn't figure out that she was alive.

"Mike?" El asked quietly.

He looked up at her.

She pointed to his side with concern etched across her face.

He looked down and saw patches of blood seeping through his hospital gown.

"Shit.." he muttered, placing a hand over his side.

"You okay?" Lucas asked, staring at his friends.

Mike shook his head and layed back against his pillow, takin a deep breath.

"I'll go get a doctor." Dustin said, rushing out of the room, followed by Max.

"Mike?" El asked again, holding his hand.

"Hmm?" His face scrunched up in pain.

"It's going to get better?" She asked, not looking away from his face.

He smiled softly, "Mhmm."

The throbbing pain in his body pulled him out of consciousness.

 **El**

El stared at him. He wasn't responding anymore and she was getting anxious. Tears filled her eyes. She didn't want to leave him again. The doctors rushed into the room and asked the kids to leave. She objected.

"Come on El. We can come back later." Max said, grabbing her hand and gently pulling her out of the room.

Tears fell down El's face.

Back in her room she sat alone on her bed. She stared at the blank walls and cried. All she wanted to do was go to Mikes and eat eggos. It was so good when that's all she really did for that short time.

The door opened and Joyce walked in.

"Hi sweetie." She said softly, pulling up a chair beside her bed.

"Mike?" She asked, her voice cracking.

"He's getting stitches right now El. We'll be able to see him tomorrow."

El shook her head, "Now."

Joyce frowned, "Oh El. We can't see him right now, I'm sorry. But tomorrow we get to leave the hospital. You, me and Will. Wills getting better, thankfully and the doctors said that you're ready to go home too."

"Where?" El asked.

"Well... we can go to my house and you can stay there for a while until we figure out what to do. You can sleep in Wills room and he'll sleep you Jonathan. And umm.." Joyce trailed off.

"Eggos?" El asked, grinning.

"Oh you like those don't you? Will told me that you did. Yes, you can have eggos too and we can visit Mike until he's all better, okay?" Joyce asked.

El nodded, "Thank you."

"Oh, El. I would do anything to help you sweetie, you've already done so much for me and my family."

El smiled and relaxed.

She was going home.

 **Okay! The next chapter is going to fast forward a little bit so I'm not dragging on the hospital stuff. I hope you enjoyed, bye!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Chapter 9 takes place 2 weeks after El gets back and no more hospital! Whoo!**

 **1984 part 9**

 **Mike**

He was in the hospital for two weeks. It was horrible. He hated being confined to that small bed and just wanted to go home. His friends visited him but the visits were always cut extremely short due to the stupid doctors tests. He was always curious why they were doing so many tests.

He was finally let go 2 weeks after her got there. He received stitches in his arm, side and leg. He also had to use crutches for another month, which he wasn't really looking forward to.

 **El**

After they left the hospital El stayed at the Byers house. She loved it there and felt safe. Her nightmares would still appear every night and she would reach out to Mike for comfort. He would then tell her stories to calm her until she fell asleep. She couldn't imagine what would've happened if he had died that night in the Upside Down. She loved visiting him and was always sad afterwards when she had to leave after the short visits.

Once she did get back to the Byers house, which she called home now, she instantly felt better. Hopper would come over and teach her. He helped her expand her vocabulary every day and she had a thirst for knowledge. She enjoyed getting to know Will and helped him whenever he had a small episode. They understood each other and quickly became best friends. She was finally happy and felt free, even if it had only been 2 weeks. It was the best time she'd had so far. Being normal. But of course, all good things must come to an end.

 **Mike**

After being home for a day, his mother finally allowed his friends to come over. He was in his bedroom when he heard a soft knock on the door.

"Come in." He said.

El pushed open the door and rushed over to him. She hugged him tightly and they stayed like that for a while. During their hug everything seemed perfect.

"Hi." She smiled as they released their hug.

"Hey." He grinned and held her hand.

El's eyes wondered over him. She saw the bandages on his arm and felt the ones on his side. Her eyes reached the crutches propped up against the bed. She frowned and her lip quivered. These horrible things happened to him, because of her.

"Hey." Mike said, holding her hand tighter.

She looked at him, a tear falling down her face.

"This isn't your fault, El. None of this is, please don't blame yourself." He whispered, never breaking eye contact.

She let out a shaky laugh.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

They sat in silence for a moment, just staring at each other.

"Mike?" She asked.

"Yeah?"

"At the cafeteria... what happened?"

"Oh... um well I... kissed you." Mike said, his face going red.

"Is that good?" She asked, her cheeks flushing.

"Uh yeah.. you do it when you care for someone, like more than a friend."

"You care for me?" El smiled softly.

"Y- yeah. You're an amazing person El and I really like you." Mike said, staring at her.

"I like you too... more than a friend. You make me feel... safe. Happy." El said, coming closer to Mike.

"You're incredible.." Mike whispered.

He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against hers. It was a little longer than the one in the cafeteria, but just as wonderful.

El hugged him.

"You mean everything to me." She whispered.

He hugged her back tightly, savouring this moment.

 **I**

The man but down the speaker. He lifted his walkie talkie.

"Sir." He said.

"Yes? What is it Johnson?" An urgent voice came from the speakers.

"She's back. And we know her weakness." Johnson said, a smug look on his face.

"Perfect.. everything is going perfectly."

Peters set down the communicater. An evil grin spread across his face.

"You're plan will continue, Brenner." He muttered to himself.

 **Whoaaaaaa! What do you guys think is going to happen??? :O**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! Chapter 10 is going to consist of mostly a flashback, so I hope you enjoy!**

 **1984 part 10**

 ** _Flashback_**

It was a week after El had dissapeared. The boys were over at Mike's house for a campaign and Lucas and Dustin had just left. Mike was alone in his basement. He sat in front of the fort he made her, holding his supercom. His throat was tight and he was looking at the ceiling, trying not to cry as Will was still there. He had gone up to get some snacks since he was spending the night. Mike turned around as he heard Will coming back down the stairs.

"Okay so I got Pringles and coke." Will said, laying the snacks on the table.

Mike smiled at him, trying to shake off his sadness. Whenever he was alone, even if it was for a minute, she would immediately make her way into his mind.

"Hey, you okay?" Will asked, kneeling next to mike.

Mike gave a small nod but when he glanced at the fort again he lost it. Tears fell down his face and he threw the supercom at the fort, causing the blanket to fall.

"It's not fair!" Mike yelled, covering his face with his hands.

"What.. what's not?" Will asked, although he felt as though he already knew the answer.

"What happened to her. All she did was help us... and then she just... she's gone and.." mike trailed off, wiping his eyes.

"Hey, it's okay. Just.. talk to me." Will sat down across from Mike.

"What the lab did.. it was so wrong and she didn't deserve this. She just.. she helped people she barely knew because... they didn't treat her like an animal. We... I should have helped her more.." Mike whispered, pulling his knees to his chest.

"Mike, I know that you liked Eleven. A lot. And she does sound like a great person.. but you can't keep pulling yourself down because of what happened. You're right, You guys treated her like a person, a human being and that probably meant the world to her. You did help her, a lot. And if she's as strong as you say she is, there's a chance that she's still out there. But... sometimes... you just have to move on. We can move on but we'll never forget her. She doesn't deserve to be forgotten." Will said, holding on to Mikes shoulders.

Mike looked up at him and smiled, "How the hell can you not even know someone but still make an incredible speech about her?" He asked, lightly laughing.

Will shrugged.

The two stood up to get the snacks and start a movie but Will suddenly dropped the chips and rushed over to the bathroom.

"Will?" Mike asked, running after him.

He opened the door and fell back in horror.

Will puked up a large, green slug that fell down the drain. Will stumbled back and fell against the wall, breathing heavily and looking around wildly.

"What. The hell. Was that?" Mike asked.

Will finally focused and took a deep breath, his face pale.

"Uhh.. those- those have been coming up- since I got... back." He explained between breaths.

Mike stared at Will in shock.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I thought it would go away but it didn't and then I didn't want people to worry or-"

"Will, this is serious. Whatever happened to you down there... it's still effecting you." Mike said as he helped Will up.

"Please don't tell my mom or anybody, please. I don't want to cause anything, again." Will begged.

"Wha- no- No, Will. We have to tell your mom and our friends because.. this obviously isn't going away and if we wait.. it could get worse and then people _will_ find out but it might be to late then. You need help, Will." Mike said.

Will looked scared and ran his hands through his hair. He paced around the room for a bit, processing what Mike said.

"Okay... okay you're right. Ok.." Will agreed.

"Thank you." Mike sighed.

"So um, can we get back to the movie?" Will asked, trying to lighten up their small party.

Mike grinned, "Yeah."

 **WhooooOoo okay so that's how they found out about Will and there's going to be more flashbacks so stay tuned!! Bye!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi guys! Chapter 011 haha... yea, it's summer break for me woohoo!! I'll probably be posting more since I'm out of school :)**

 **1984 part 11**

 **Christmas**

Going back to school had been difficult and he had to come up with a lie on how he got hurt. He lied to his doctors, parents and school. Great. But, they all seemed to just go with it so nothing else was said. Only a select few knew what really happened, and it terrified them to talk about it.

It was now Christmas Eve and all the kids were in the Wheeler basement since they were having a Christmas party together. They were crowded around the Coffee table, the DD board in front of them. Dustin sat closest to the stairs with Will next to him. Max sat on the couch and Lucas was near the back door. Mike and El sat close to each other, holding hands under the table. They had just finished their game and Dustin and Lucas had just gotten up to wrestle.

"Come on guys! Do you have to do this every game?" Mike asked, laughing as Lucas threw a can of coke at Dustin, which bounced off his hat and hit Max. That resulted in an entirely new fight.

"Why do they fight?" El asked quietly.

"Oh, they're just playing. It's what friends do, they don't get hurt or anything, it's for fun." Mike explained.

"Kids! It's time for presents!" Mrs. Wheeler called down.

"Oh yeah!" Dustin yelled as he ran up the stairs.

The rest followed and El helped Mike up the stairs since he was still on crutches.

They crowded around the tree and the parents passed around the gifts.

Hopper and Joyce sat by the window, with Will sitting in front of them on the floor. Jonathan, Nancy and Steve sat on the couch. Ted sat in the Lazy boy with Holly in his lap while Karen sat on the arm of the chair.

Hopper had a Santa hat on and handed Lucas his gift.

He tore off the paper.

"Oh sweet, x-men comics!" He cheered.

Dustin received his gift next,

"Ohhhh nice!" He smiled as he pulled out a hat with superheroes on it.

Hopper gave Will his gift next.

"Aw, thanks you guys!" He said as he pulled out multiple coloured pencils, paint and paper.

Mike was next.

"Wow... thank you!" He said, a little shocked as he pulled out a new and improved Super com. He grinned widely.

"And for El... hold on." Hopper said.

El looked at Mike, confusion in her eyes as hopper ran out of the room. Mike smiled at her, he already knew what the gift was.

"Close your eyes!" Hoppers voice came from the hallway.

El giggled and covered her eyes.

"Okay... open!"

El gasped as she saw Holper holding a bike. It had streamers from the handles that matched the pastel blue paint in the bike. She got up and ran over to Hopper, giving him a big hug.

"Thank you." She whispered.

He smiled down at her, "You deserve it, kid."

The rest of the party was given their gifts. Max received a new skate board, Holly got a barbie, Jonathan a new lens for his camera, Nancy a blouse and so on.

The party then separated into little groups.

Mike pulled El off into the hallway, away from everyone. The window reviled that it was snowing. El pressed her hand up against the glass, lost in the snow and lights.

"Hey, El?" Mike asked.

"Yes?" She said, pulling away from the window and facing him.

"I uh... I got this for you." He said, handing her a small white box with a pink bow.

She smiled and gently untied the bow. She lifted off the lid and gasped. Tears filled her eyes as she peered down at the small, silver locker that was delicately placed in the box. She picked it up. She pressed the small button on the top and it flipped open to reveal a picture of her and Mike. They were outside, under a tree that was filled with orange and red colours. The sun was setting and they were holding a paper lantern. It was after they were all released from the hospital. Jonathan had captured this moment. The lantern illuminated their faces. Eleven felt a tear roll down her face.

"Do you like it?" Mike asked softly.

She looked up at him, "I love it." Her voice was barely a whisper but that's all he needed. She grabbed his hand and kissed him. It sent warmth through her body and she wanted that moment to last forever. She pulled away slowly and hugged him. He embraced her tightly.

"Thank you." She whispered, her breath tickling his ear.

Mike smiled.

"You're welcome, El."

She pulled away, "Can you help me?" She asked, holding up the locket.

He nodded and put it on her.

It reached down to her chest and she held it close to her heart.

She stared at the picture as the memories of that night flooded into her mind.

 **Flashback**

"Welcome home!" Everyone cheered as Mike and El came outside. Everyone was in the yard and there we're fairy lights strung between the trees.

"Welcome back buddy." Dustin said, patting Mike on the back. Mike grinned.

"I'm so happy you're back!" Nancy said as she embraced El.

"Me too." El said softly.

Everyone welcomed them back home and the party began. It was a warm autumn night, for November so El had on a light blue sweater over a white dress that went down to her knees. Her hair, which had grown out into beautiful curls had little white flowers wrapped around her head.

Eleven looked at mike and smiled at him.

He caught sight of her staring.

"What?" He asked, laughing a little.

"You look amazing." She said, considering what just happened.

Mike laughed and looked down at his dark blue, longsleaved shirt.

"You... look beautiful." He said, coming closer to her.

She blushed, knowing what beautiful meant, thanks to Joyce's amazing teaching skills.

Jonathan passed out paper lanterns to everyone. They were going to release them together, to make their own stars.

El came up close to Mike, wrapping her arm around his back. He had ditched the crutches on the ground next to him, they were ruining the moment. He put his arm around her shoulder and they both held the yellow lantern. El kissed Mike's cheek gently. He looked at her, a little shocked at first but once her caught sight of her face; he kissed her.

Jonathan had captured the moment they released, the sun setting in the background and the lantern illuminating their faces. The orange leaves seemed magical above them. Even though they were 14, this picture showed that they truly did love each other...

And Eleven would hold it to her heart, forever.

 **Awwww wasn't that sweet. I swear I can't get enough of Mileven... it'll be the death of me. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi guys! It's thundering right now so it's putting me in a mood to write :)**

 **1984 part 12**

 ** _Flashback_**

It was a month since Eleven disspaeared. Mike had been getting small nightmares every night but this particular night was the worst. It marked a month after she had saved them all. It was thunder storming and the rain sounded like it was going to bust through the roof. Mike tossed and turned in his sleep

He was in his room, sitting on his bed, although it wasn't really his room. It was covered in vines and slime. His walls seemed to fade into nothingness. Lightning flashed through his window and it lit up his room for a second. He caught sight of her, standing in what would be a corner of his room. She was looking down and had an odd grin on her face. She looked terrifying. Mikes breath caught in his throat.

"No, no no." His voice was barely a whisper.

Lighting flashed through again. She was closer, in the middle of his room now. He noticed that it didn't really look like her anymore. Her hands were twisted into dark, long fingers. Her skin looked almost scale like and was covered in slime. She was looking up a little bit. Her smile was wider and her lips were cracked and bloodied. Black ooze shone from the corners of her mouth. Mike felt like he was suffocating. He inched back in his bed, pressing against the wall. His room was pitch black now. He didn't breathe. Lighting flashed through for the last time. She was directly in front of him. Although, it wasn't her. She had transformed into a terrifying creature. Black oozed from its mouth and eyes and its sharp teeth shone in the flashes of light. It's twisted hands were reaching out towards him.

"NO!" Mike screamed, or at least tried to.

The creatures hands closed around his throat. He struggles under its grasp. He kicked and clawed at it. It only held tighter. It's screams blended with his.

The edges of Mike's vision was going black. He was dying. He stopped movement when he looked the creature straight in the face. In its big, black eyes he saw a familiar face. They made eye contact and he reached out to Mike. That's all Mike saw before the lack of air pushed him out of hell.

Mike screamed and jolted up right. He gasped for air and held his neck, the creatures touch still lingered. He felt tears falling down his face and breathed heavily. He ran across the room and turned on the light. He fell against the wall and pulled his knees to his chest. His shoulders shook violently with his sobs.

Nancy burst into his room and her heart broke when she saw her brother, curled up against the wall.

"Mike...?" She whispered, falling to her knees in front of him.

He reached out to her and she quickly embraced him. She held him tightly as he cried into her shoulder. He felt so fragile and small.

"Mike? What... what happened?" She asked quietly, after he had calmed down a bit.

He shook his head, still holding on to her.

"I... I don't know." He said, his voice cracking.

"It was... a dream, I think but... it felt so real." He continued, shaking.

"I was here... but it looked... dark and... El was there for a second.. she changed to this monster. It... tried to kill me... but it's eyes... in- in its eyes- I- I saw Will." Mike finished, crying even harder.

Nancy held him tighter. He grabbed fist fulls of her shirt, holding on like if he let go, everything would be gone again.

"Oh.. Mike I'm.. so sorry this is happening.." Nancy whispered, kissing the top of his head.

Mike calmed down a little and they sat in silence, holding on to each other.

"What does this mean?" Mikes voice was barely a whisper.

"Something... bad." Nancy said reluctantly.

Mike breathed in heavily.

It seemed that they stayed there together for the rest of the night. Their parents would find them together in the floor, not questioning the redness in their sons eyes or the tear stains on their daughters shirt.

They wanted to help, but were practically oblivious to what had happened, and what had been happening.

 **Hehehe... I guess I shouldn't write when it's storming... ~**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! I love reading the reviews and some of them made me laugh :) I really appreciate you all reading this and I hope you keep reading because I have big plans for this story ;)**

 **January 1985**

It was now January 2nd, 1985. It was a new year. El had been learning and improving daily and she loved her new life. Living with the Byers and hanging out at Mikes. She felt that she could start a new. Hopper even told her that once school started again in August, she would be able to go with her friends. That made her very excited and nervous. She would finally get to experience things that were second nature to kids her age. Speaking of age. El was now 14. Since they didn't know her real birthday, everyone let her pick a date. She picked January 2nd. It was a very special day for her.

The morning of the 2nd, she hadn't planned to mark this date for her birthday but after what happened that day, she decided that it would be a perfect date for her. What happened, she wanted to remember forever.

 **That morning**

It was 9am and El has just woken up. She looked around her room, which used to be Will's, but he now shared a room with Jonathan which helped because he now hated being alone. El and Joyce had transformed the small room. They had painted the walls a soft pink and had gotten her pastel blue curtains. Her twin bed had a white bedframe and pink sheets. She had a tall, white bookshelf that was filled and practically over flowing with about every type of book. She loved her room, it was cozy.

El got out of bed and picked out a pastel yellow dress. It was long sleeved and she paired it with white knee socks and a blue sweater. El loved dresses. She felt like a normal girl when she wore them. They made her feel pretty.

At the wheelers hous, Mike was scrambling around his room, trying to find a decent outfit.

 _I can't believe I did that I can't believe I did that._

He was repeating in his head. At the New Years party he had asked El out on a date. A real date. He was a mess. He didn't really know what to do or what to wear and it was already 9. They'd planned to meet at a 11. Okay so he had two hours to find something to wear and plan something for their date. The first date that El would go on. Couldn't be that hard right? Wrong.

Mike couldn't move as fast as he wanted to because, one he was not the flash and two, he was still recovering. Nancy walked into his room, due to the racket he was making.

"What's going on?" She asked, tapping on his door.

"Auughghg!" Mike yelled. He jumped as his sister entered, not expecting anyone to come in.

"Oh.. uh I uh I asked El out on a date.." he muttered awkwardly.

"You did?!" Nancy exclaimed, her face brightening.

Mike nodded and continued rummaging through his closet.

"What are you guys gonna doooo?" Nancy asked.

"Uh well I don't know yet.. but I have two hours to plan something or I'm screwed- Aha!" Mike said, as he pulled out a white button down.

"You don't know what you're doing yet?" Nancy asked, a little shocked.

"Yea I know I know, I just didn't expect to get this far I guess." Mike replied as he buttoned the shirt.

"Oh come on Mike! You're smarter than that, you obviously knew she was going to say yes. Well, I have an idea." Nancy said.

Mike looked at her, "what?"

"Take her ice skating. The ice rinks are still open and then you guys could go out for lunch." She suggested.

"That's... actually a go- great idea." Mike said, grinning.

"Always here to help, oh and don't button that all the way." Nancy said, gesturing towards Mikes buttoned up shirt.

Mike nodded and unbuttoned the button that was at the top.

Nancy smiled to herself and exited the room.

Mike quickly put in some jeans. He pulled out a dark blue light jacket. Then he grabbed his coat and ran downstairs.

"You're in a hurry." Mrs. Wheeler said as Mike practically fell down the stairs. "Take it easy, Michael!" She yelled as he stumbled into the kitchen.

"Sorry!" He apologised as he put waffles in the toaster, hopping from foot to foot.

"Why are you so... nervous?" Karen asked.

"Umm, I have a date.." mike said, pulling out the eggos.

"A date? Awww my little baby's growing up." Karen said as she hugged Mike.

"MooOooom." Mike groaned.

"Oh okay okay, just promise me no funny business." Karen said, holding her sons shoulders.

"Geez mom I'm 14.. not well... not Nancy." Mike said, gesturing up the stairs.

"I heard that!" Nancy yelled from her room.

"I know, I know Mike. I hope you have fun with... who did you say?" Karen asked.

"El.. Byers." Mike said quickly.

"Ohh that's the girl Joyce just adopted. Well she seems nice, I hope you have a good time." Karen said as she kissed Mike's head.

Back at the Byers house El was bouncing around in the kitchen.

"I'm so excited!" She said, she suddenly stopped, "but I'm also reaaally nervous."

"Oh Ellie, I'm so happy for you." Joyce said, squeezing her knee daughter. She adopted her on December 17th.

"Thanks." El said, smiling.

"Soo, do you know where you to are going?" Joyce asked.

"Mike said it's a surprise." El said.

"OooOooo."

"Hey El." Will said as he came into the kitchen.

"Oh will, how are you feeling?" Joyce asked.

"Better." Will replied, retrieving some waffles from the toaster.

Joyce smiled.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Ooh that's Mike!" El said, "how do I look?" She asked, brushing down her dress.

Joyce looked at her. She had a yellow headband with a bow in her curly hair that matched her dress.

"Beautiful." Joyce said, kissing the top of her head.

Will answered the door.

Mike stood there, in his dark green winter coat.

"Hey Mike." Will said, grinning.

"Hi Will." Mike said.

He and Will walked over to El.

El stared at Mike for a second.

"Hi." She said, her cheeks flushing.

"Hey." He said, his face also going red.

"Oh! Let me take a picture." Joyce said.

"Mooom.." El groaned.

Mike chuckled, "My mom was disappointed that _she_ couldn't take a picture."

Joyce returned with Jonathan's camera.

"Okay say, cheese!"

Mike grabbed El's hand and she leaned into him.

"Aww, you two are so cute." Joyce said.

"Okay mom, I think it's time for them to go." Will said, nudging his mom away from the couple.

"Oh all right, have fun you two!" Joyce said as they headed out the door.

El was on the back of Mikes back as she has not learned how to ride her bike yet. She had on blue earmuffs that matched her coat and mittens.

"Where are we going?" El asked.

"You'll see." Mike responded, grinning.

She giggled and held onto him tighter, placing her chin on his shoulder.

They entered the small parking lot of the Ice rink. Mike places his bike in the bike racks and lead El to the rink.

"What's this?" She asked.

"This is an ice rink, we go on the ice and we ice skate." Mike explained as he purchased two pairs of skates. He lead her over to the benches. Mike helped her put on her skates and then laced up his own.

"Won't we fall through?" El asked, looking at the ice.

"No, it's safe. Plus I'll be there so you won't fall, my family goes all the time." Mike said, helping her into the ice.

She made a small sound as she got on to the ice. She held in to the wall, her knuckles going white.

"It's.. slippery." She said.

"Yea, it's like walking except you... slide." Mike said, showing her as he slid over the ice.

"Here." He said, grabbing hold of her left hand with his left and then placing his right on her back.

"Just one foot in front of the other." He said softly.

El watched her feet for a while and then looked at Mike, his hat was pushing down his hair, covering his eyes a little. His cheeks and nose were pink and he had a caring look in his face. He caught her staring and grinned.

"What?" He asked.

"It's just... you." El said, stopping.

"What about me?" He asked.

"You're.. amazing." She said, kissing his cheek.

His face went red, if it could go even more red than it already was.

" _You're_ incredible." He said, tempering that's what he said to her when she visited him after he came home.

El smiled.

"Thank you, for this." She said.

Mike nodded, "you deserve it."

They continued to skate around the rink. El slipped a couple times but Mike helped her and they always laughed it off.

After a while, El was shivering.

"How about we go get some lunch before you freeze." Mike suggested.

El nodded, smiling.

They returned their skates and got back on his bike.

"That was so much fun." El said.

They rode to a diner near the rink.

"Hey, this is where Nancy works." El said.

Mike nodded, "yeah but she's not working today, thankfully."

El chuckled and they headed into the diner, hand in hand.

The picked a booth in the corner, away from everyone even though the diner was practically empty.

A waitress walked over to them, her red curly hair bouncing with each step.

"Hi I'm Cherry, I'll be your waitress today. What can I get you?" She asked.

"Um, can we get two hot chocolates plsase?" Mike asked.

"Sure thing hon." Cherry said, giving them a menu.

"What would you like El?" Mike asked.

El looked over the menu. She spotted a plate of waffles.

"That." She said.

"Waffles? Ha, I'm not surprised. Good thing they have 24 hour breakfast." Mike said, laughing a little.

Cherry returned with their drinks and they ordered the waffles for El and Mike ordered chicken and fries.

El sipped the hot coco.

"Wow, that's good." She said.

"Yeah, they have about the best hot coco." Mike said, holding her hand.

She grinned at him.

Cherry returned with their food.

They ate and talked. They talked bout school, their families and El laughed at Mikes stories. They were soon finished with their food. Mike payed and they left the diner.

"That was _so_ good." El said, holding on to Mikes hand as they walked to his bike.

"Mhmm." Mike agreed.

Mike got on the bike and waited for El to get on. She didn't yet.

"Hey, thank you. This was... incredible." She said, picking up in the word her used to describe her.

Mike smiled, "you're welcome El. I'm.. I'm really happy that you're back."

"Me too." She said.

El leaned down and kissed him. Her hand playing with his hair. He wrapped his arm around her waist. The kiss was the most amazing feeling. It sent electricity through her body and she never wanted it to end.

They slowly separated and she hugged him, tightly.

He hugged her back, breathing her in.

She got on the bike and wrapped her arms around him.

They set off.

As they were nearing the Byers house she remembered that she could pick a date for her birthday. She looked at Mikes watch. It read 5:00.

"Hey Mike." She said as they pulled up her driveway.

"Yeah?" He said, getting off.

"Remember when you said I could pick a date for my birthday?" She asked, holding his hand as she stood up.

"Yes, did you pick a date?" He asked.

She nodded, "Today. January 2nd. I want today to be my birthday."

Mike smiled and looked a little shocked.

"Really? Why today?" He asked.

"Because, today you made me feel like a normal person. But you also made me feel special and I never want to forget that feeling. Today was amazing.. and it feels right." El said.

Mike didn't say anything. He just stared at her with a big smile in his face. He leaned forward and kissed her, his arms around her waist.

El hugged him tightly.

"Happy birthday El." Mike said.

"Thank you, Mike."

 **MILEVEN!!! It's my otp and I might have lied a little when I said it wasn't ALL going to be Mileven. It's mostly going to be Mileven and honestly I probably should have named this story Mileven XD but there's a reason I named it this way.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! So i fast forwarded so I can get to the plot but I hope you guys still enjoy!!**

 **August 1985**

El was living a normal life. Or as normal as it could be. She was still a 14 year old girl with telekinetic powers and a brother who was connected to the Upside Down, in the worst way possible. But despite that, she went to school, had friends, and had an amazing boyfriend. El loved school and thanked Joyce for talking to the principal so that she had every class with at least one of her friends. She felt like she belonged, and she loved it.

Will was in the school bathroom. He had locked the door so that no one else could get in and truthfully, he was having a full on panic attack. He thought that he was getting better but recently it had been getting worse. Much worse. He stared at his shaking hands. They had an odd grey color to them. He looked at himself in the mirror and almost screamed. He couldn't look away. His skin was grey and shiny. His lips were bloodied and cracked. He noticed some sort of black ooze coming from the corners of his mouth. He felt hot tears falling down his face.

 _This is not happening this cannot be happening..._

He felt the horrible and oh too familiar feeling in his stomach. He bent over the sink and vomited a large, slimey slug. It was the biggest he's ever seen.

 _Where are these coming from??_

But he felt like he already knew. He held his stomach as he hurled up several more.

A loud knocking in the door made him jump.

"Hey! You're not supposed to lock this! Open up!" An angry voice came from the other side of the closed door.

Will looked at himself again. He looked worse. The black ooze was now running down his chin and neck. He tried wiping it away but that only made it worse.

"No no no.." he whispered, his body shaking with his sobs.

He felt extremely dizzy and saw several flashes of the Upside Down. The last thing he saw was a horrifying image of himself, falling to the floor.

Mike sat in the back of the classroom, staring out the window. It was Friday and he was impatiently tapping his foot. They had all planned an epic DD game tonight and El was going to play with the boys and Max.

This was the only period where he had none of his friends. The thing that made it worse was that all his friends were in the same class together while he was alone.

He could barely pay attention to Mrs. Fletchers history lesson.

He snapped out of his gaze when the Principals voice sounded on the over head.

"Attention students and staff. We are in a lockdown. There has been a serious issue in one of the male bathrooms. I repeat this is a lockdown." His voice echoed through the school.

"Shit.." Mike muttered.

 _Of course we would have a lockdown during the only period where I'm alone._ He thought.

"Okay students please remain seated. Can I have a couple volunteers to close the blinds and lock the windows and doors please?" Mrs. Fletcher asked.

 _Well I have nothing better to do, I might as well._

Mike raised his hand along with two other people.

The other kids went to work on the windows as Mike went over to the doors. There was a door on each side of the room. He locked one then went over to the other. He peered out the small window and caught sight of security guards surrounding the bathroom door that was right across the hall. He quickly locked the door but kept staring.

 _Mike? Mike what's happening?_ El's scared voice echoed through his mind.

 _Um somethings happening in the bathroom. There's some security guards who are checking it out. It's probably nothing._ Mike responded, trying to reassure her.

 _Mike... Will went to the bathroom before the lockdown.._

Mikes heart dropped.

"No.." he whispered.

His eyes widened as the door flew off the wall and took out three guards. What emerged made Mikes heart skip a beat. It was the same creature from his dream. It's long, twisted hands reached out for the guards. Black oozed from its eyes and mouth. It's grey, slimey skin glistened in the flickering hallway lights. The guards layed scattered around the monster; dead. It looked around widely but stopped when it made eye contact with Mike through the small door window.

"LOOK OUT!" Mike yelled as he jumped away from the door. A split second later the monster busted through the door, knocking out Mrs. Fletcher.

The students screams filled the air.

"RUN!" Mike yelled at his classmates.

They stood frozen in the corner, shaking and crying.

The monster looked around the room, baring its sharp teeth.

Mike stood in front of the crowd.

"Will?" Mike asked, staring at the monster.

He saw the same flicker of his friend in the monsters eyes that he did in his dream. But this time will looked terrified.

"It's me... it's Mike." Mike said, taking a step closer.

The monster stood in the doorway staring, its hands fidgeting.

"Come on Will. I know you're there. Please, fight it." Mike said, not really knowing what he was saying as he stepped closer.

The monster shook its head and Will vanished from its eyes. It shrieked and lunged at Mike.

Mike yelled and pushed a desk at it, falling to the ground.

The other students continued to scream louder as it thrashed through the room.

Mike scrambled to his feet and backed up against the window, the students now running out of the door.

He was alone.. with the monster, yet again.

It shrieked again and ran forward, reaching for Mike.

Mike quickly ducked under it as it crashed through the windows, sending glass flying everywhere. A piece hit Mike right under his eye and in his arm, as he tried to shield himself.

The sun shone through the room as he scrambled to the edge of the window, slipping a little on the smashed glass.

He caught a glimpse of the monster running toward the woods.

"Will..." Mike whispered. Tears filled his eyes and before he knew it he was crying, standing alone in the wrecked classroom. He just saw his best friend transformed into a terrifying monster and he couldn't do anything about it. He shudderd as wind blew through the empty room. He heard teachers and guards rush into the room. He was turned around by Mr. Clarke.

"Mike? What happened?" He asked anxiously.

Mike just shook his head, crying more.

Mr. Clarke pulled him into a hug and lead him out of the classroom.

Mike saw practically the entire school crowded into the hall way as he was lead away from the history room. He could still see the bodies sprawled across the floor.

 **During the attack**

El sat in her desk restlessly.

"What if something happened to him?" She asked her friends who were right next to her.

"Maybe it's a coincidence?" Dustin asked, fidgeting with his pencil.

"Unlikely... I hope Will's okay.." Max said.

El closed her eyes and contacted Mike. She wished he was here right now. She told him about Will but didn't get a response. She breathed in quickly.

"El? El what's wrong?" Lucas asked as she opened her eyes.

"I contacted Mike. I told him where Will was but he hasn't responded." She said.

"Wait, where is he right now?" Dustin asked.

"History.. with Fletcher." Lucas responded. His eyes widened.

"Holy shit.. that's right across from a bathroom." Max said.

"But that's downstairs, on the other side of the school. Why would Will go there?" Dustin asked.

"Maybe because he was hiding. If something was going on he probably didn't want to be near us.." El said.

"Shit... Damn it!" Lucas exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

El gasped. She felt something, mentally. Mike.

"Oh no... guys." She said, looking at them as tears sparked in her eyes.

That's all she had to say, they understood.

Screams sunddenly filled the school, followed by an inhumane shriek.

The group looked at each other, wide eyed and scared.

The class stood up.

"Okay class, we need to evacuate." Their teacher said, unlocking the door.

Max grabbed El's hand reassuringly as they headed into the crowded halls. They hurried down the stairs. They immediately stopped once they caught sight of the hallway. The bathroom door was flung off the wall, leaving a mark on the wall. It layed on the floor, surrounded by several bodies.

El gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

Mr. Clarke was walking out of the history room with his arm around a student. They couldn't see his face as he was quickly lead to the exit but they knew. The friends looked at each other and hurried after them, no one noticed during all the chaos.

 **Mike**

Mr. Clarke lead Mike outside and to the benches in the court yard.

"Hey... are you okay?" Mr Clarke asked, kneeling in front of him as Mike sat down.

Mike shook his head.

"Can you tell me?" Mr. Clarke asked, trying to help out his student.

"You wouldn't understand..." mike said, looking at his cut hands.

"Ok... I'll be right back." Mr. Clarke said, heading over to one of the ambulances.

Mike continued to stare at his hands, he studied the pieces of glass but did not remove them for he didnt care. His bestfriend was gone... again.

He heard footsteps as several people ran over to him.

"Mike!" He looked up at the sound of El's voice.

"Oh my god... Mike." She whimpered, sitting next to him and pulling him into a tight hug.

Mike cried into her shoulder, shaking.

His friends crowded around him, Dustin sitting on the other side of him and Max and Lucas standing in front of him, blocking him from the rest of the school. He sighed.

Mike pulled back from El, still holding her hand tightly.

"Mike? You probably don't want to hear this but what happened?" Lucas asked, staring at his friend in concern.

Mike shook his head, taking a deep breath.

"It was Will." He said.

El took in a deep breath, "what happened?" She asked softly.

"He... whatever was inside him.. it over took him. He transformed into this.. monster. It looked kind of like a person but its limbs were twice as long. He was grey and shiny... and he had this black... ooze I think coming from his mouth.. and his eyes..." Mike struggled to get out, but continued. "In its eyes... I could see him. Will was in that... that _things_ eyes. He.. he was terrified. And I... I think he heard me.. I talked to him when he came into the classroom.. he stopped for a second.. but then it's like he vanished. I couldn't see him anymore..." Mike said, his voice cracking.

"Oh my god.." Max said, running her hands through her hair.

"Wh- where did he go?" Lucas asked.

"He.. ran to the woods.." Mike said. Then his eyes widened. "Oh my god..." he stood up and walked between Lucas and max. He started pacing.

"I don't understand.." Mike said, running his hands through his hair.

"What? What is it, Mike?" El asked, standing up.

"How...?" Was all Mike muttered.

"Mike! Tell us, what are you doing?!" Lucas said angrily.

Mike stopped and looked at his friends.

"I saw it before." He said, his hands shaking.

"What?" Dustin asked.

"Will! I saw Will and this- this _thing_ before! It was the same! I saw him in its eyes and then it was there, again!" Mike exclaimed.

"What do you mean, just tell us all of it!" El said, trying to stay calm.

"In a dream! I saw it in a dream but it wasn't recently! It was a month after you dissapeared and I had been getting this nightmares but that one night.. it felt... real? But I was in the Upside Down and I saw Will in that thing.. and then it- it happened- here- today! I just... HOW DID I SEE THAT??" Mike exclaimed, shaking throughly.

They were all silent for a moment.

"I don't know..." El said quietly, staring at Mike. "That doesn't make sense.." she whispered.

 **Hehehehehehehe. I've been waiting soooo loooongg to do this chapter and now it's here. The plot thinkens!!!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! This chapter continues straight from what was happening in ch. 14**

 **August 1985**

Mike was sitting in the back of a parked ambulance. Again. It was just like when El dissapeared. The paramedics surrounded him, pulling out the glass from his arms and hands and putting small bandages over them. They had to cut his cheek a little to get the glass out and then they gave him stitches. After that he was left alone. He stared at his hands, not knowing where else to look.

"Mike?" Mike looked up.

El was standing there with the rest of their friends. She took his hands in hers.

"Can you show me?" She asked softly, sitting beside him.

"Show you?" Mike asked, not leaving her gaze.

"Show me your dream and what happened today." El said, holding his hands tighter.

"How?" Mike asked, his voice cracking.

"Just.. close your eyes and concentrate on what happened. I'll do the rest." She said.

Mike nodded and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and focused on the dream.

When he opened his eyes again he and El were in his room. The dream version. They were viewing it, like it was a movie. Mikes breath caught in his throat as the dream unraveled. El squeezed his hand, not looking away from the nightmare.

Mike glanced at her and saw that she had tears in her eyes. The room faded away as the dream ended. They were in a black void.

"Do you want to continue?" Mike asked.

El nodded, "If you can live through it than I can at least view it." She said softly.

The void changed into the classroom. The scene unraveled and El gripped his hand, moving closer to him. The screams echoed through the room again and Mike shuddered. He looked away as the monsters eyes came into view. The void darkened again as the vision needed.

When Mike opened his eyes again he was back to reality. Lucas, Dustin and Max were in front of him, concerned looks on their faces. Mike looked at El. She was staring back at him, tear streaks running down her face.

"Oh Mike... im so sorry.." she said, her voice cracking.

El pulled him into a tight hug, "I'm sorry I made you relive that." She said.

"It's okay, you needed to see." Mike said softly, even though he didn't really want her to see it.

"Okay... what just happened?" Dustin asked.

"I saw his dream and what... happened." El explained.

"Okay... but how?" Lucas asked, wide eyed.

"We're connected." El said shortly.

"Cool... you share a bond, your powers must have done something to the bond." Max said.

El nodded.

A scream made them all jump. The kids parted to reveal Mrs. wheeler running towards the ambulance.

"Michael!" She cried, pulling him into a bone crushing hug.

"Mom... I'm fine!" Mike gasped as his mother hugged him.

"Oh.. sorry. I was just so worried! It is not a good feeling when the school calls you saying there's been a monster attack and that your son was hurt!" Karen said, tears in her eyes.

"I'm okay... I'm not the one we should be worrying about." Mike said, his voice grim.

"What? What happened, Michael?" Karen asked, holding her sons shoulders.

"We need to go the Byers' house." Mike said.

The group arrived at the Byers' quickly and they ran up to the door. El unlocked the door and ran in.

"Mom? Jonathan! Are you home?" She yelled.

Joyce came running from the hallway, followed shortly by Jonathan.

"El? What happened, we got a call from the school and- where's Will?" Joyce asked frantically, the familiar panic returning in her eyes.

"Mom... something happened to Will.. something bad." El said, trying to stay calm.

Mike grabbed her shaking hand, "I got it." He said.

Mike quickly explained what happened.

" _What?_ Will... my baby... he turned into a.. a monster?!" Joyce stuttered, falling into a chair.

Jonathan placed a hand on her shoulder but he looked worse than she did.

"How..." Joyce whispered.

"Whatever happened to him in the Upside Down.. with the slugs and all, it's affecting him right now." El said, grabbing her mothers hand.

Joyce looked sternly at Mike, "Where did he go? Was he hurt?" She asked, standing up.

"I saw him running to the woods and I don't think he's hurt but he's scared. He's _really_ scared." Mike said.

"Why didn't you say anything when you had that- that _dream!_ We could've done something!" Joyce yelled at Mike.

" _Joyce."_ Karen said, stepping in front of her son. "There was no way Mike could've known that his dream was going to happen. None of us could have. What we all need to do is to calm down and make a plan. Mike said he was heading towards the woods, so we start there. We get a search party together and we go look for him." Karen said sternly.

Joyce looked up at her and then at Mike, her gaze softening.

"You're right.. you're right I'm sorry... I'm sorry." Joyce said, sitting back down.

"It's okay Joyce.. you have every right to be upset right now but Will needs us, and we're going to find him." Karen said.

Mike stared at his mother in awe. He was a little taken a back at what she said but was also impressed.

Hopper arrived a few minutes later with Nancy and they all made a plan. Joyce, Jonathan and Dustin were headed to the side of the woods closest to the school. Karen, Nancy, Lucas and Max were headed to Mirkwood. Hopper, Mike and El were headed towards the quarry. They split up and hurried off to their destinations.

Hopper went past every speed limit and ran every red light on his way to the quarry. He quickly parked near the woods. Mike and El jumped out of the car and ran into the woods. Hopper followed, calling wills name and having a serious case of déjà Vue.

Mike and El raced ahead of Hopper.

"Will? Will are you here?" Mike yelled.

"Will? We're here to help!" El followed.

They continued for about 10 minutes until something caught Mikes eye.

He saw a patch of the black goo on the ground.

"Look." He said, signaling El.

"He has to be close." She said.

They ran forward, following a newly found trail of the ooze. It lead them straight to the quarry.

El gasped and Mike started walking forward, quickly.

"Hey!" Hopper yelled. "Don't run ahead of me."

"Wait.. stay here." El said to Hopper.

"What? Are you crazy I'm not-"

" _Stay_ here." El said, she glared at hopper and then motioned for him to look at Mike.

Mike was headed towards the same edge that he was forced to jump off and where El saved him.

Will was standing there. He wasn't s monster anymore but he was clearly shaking.

Hopper nodded and let El follow Mike alone.

Mikes heart sank as he saw his best friend standing at the edge of the cliff, inching closer.

"Will?" Mike asked.

Will turned around quickly. Tear streaks painted his face and his clothes were ripped and bloodied.

"S-stay away from me..." Will said, tears sparking in his eyes.

"No.. Will, I won't leave you." Mike said sternly.

"But I'll hurt you... again. Look what I already did. I.. I killed people!" Will yelled, sobs racking his body.

"Will... that wasn't you.. _you_ would never do that." Mike said, inching closer to his friend.

"But... it could happen again and I- I could do something worse... it's better if I'm not here." Will said, taking a step towards the edge.

"No!" El cried, stepping towards her brother.

"Listen to me Will. We can fix this, together. We can help you.. please just.. step away from the edge." El said, her voice cracking.

"No... its better if I do this... I'm infected.. there's something wrong with me... I just need to-" Will stammered.

" _No.._ " Mike said, taking a step towards Will.

"We don't care if you hurt us. We just want you to be here Will. We love you and it would break us if you died. You're always so happy and so positive. We need that right now. _You_ need that right now. We're going to get through this, _together._ We are going to do whatever it takes to help you and we're never going to stop or let you go, do you understand? We will stand by your side and help you. We need you Will. Please." Mike said, reaching for his friend.

Will stared at him for a second then burst into tears. Mike rushed forward and hugged him tightly, pulling him away from the edge. They sunk to the ground, hugging each other. Will sobbed into Mikes shoulder, holding clumps of his shirt. Mike just held on tighter.

El sighed in relief. She stared at Mike and how he was comforting Will. She smiled. Hopper approached her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Good job kid." He said.

El looked up at Hopper. "It was Mike.." she said, staring back at the boys. "Mike convinced him to stay..."

Will held onto Mike, "Thank you." He said softly.

Mike just hugged his friend tighter, "We're never going to let you be alone in this buddy." He said.

 **Aw good ol Mike helping out his friends :) He's my favorite and he is definitely a HUGE part of most of the choices in this story, if you haven't guessed.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys! Sorry for not posting in a while, I was on vacation and don't have time to but now I'm back so I'm going to be more active, hopefully.**

 **August 1985**

Hopper, El and Mike brought Will back to the car. Mike kept an arm around his shaking friend all the way to the Byers house where everyone else was. The moment they entered the house they were bombarded with hugs and questions.

Joyce pulled Will into a bone crushing hug, "Oh Will, baby I'm so sorry!" She cried.

Jonathan joined his family in the hug.

After a while they all settled down.

"Thank you, thank you for finding him." Joyce said to Hopper.

Hopper shook his head, "It was really these two." He said, placing a his hands on Mike and El's shoulders.

Joyce grabbed the kids hands, "Thank you." She said. "Now... can you tell me what happened?" She asked.

Mike and El looked at each other and then at Will. He gave a slight nod. Mike began telling Joyce how they found Will at the quarry. El hesitantly continued about how Mike convinced him to stay. Joyce looked at her son, tears filling her eyes as Will looked at the floor.

"Will... don't ever feel like you're alone or that you have no other choice.. because we're all going to be here with you, okay?" Joyce said softly, kneeling in front of her son.

Will nodded slightly, "but what if it happens again?" His voice was dry and quiet.

Joyce just shook her head and pulled him into another hug.

After talking for a while and giving out a lot of hugs, they all decided to call it a night. Hopper left reluctantly to the school to check out the scene as The Wheelers headed to their car.

"Mike?" El stopped him.

Mike turned around as El closed the front door behind her.

"Thank you. What you said... it meant a lot to Will.. to me." She said.

Mike smiled, "I just want to do the best I can for you guys and seeing him at the quarry today... something snapped and I just kind of exploded." He said.

"Well it was one hell of an explosion." El said, kissing his cheek.

Mike grinned, "Goodnight El."

"Goodnight Mike."

 **September 1985**

It was Saturday morning and Mike was packing his backpack full of DD things. The guys planned to visit Will in the hospital, since he had been there for two weeks. They thought playing a game would cheer him up. Mike raced down the stairs as Jonathan pulled up in the driveway with Dustin and Lucas.

"Bye mom, I'm going to visit Will!" Mike called as he ran out of the door.

"Okay, be back by 10!" Karen responded.

They arrived at the hospital at 9am. They planned to stay all day. Jonathan led them to Wills room.

"Byers!" Lucas exclaimed as they ran into the room and hugged their friend.

"Hey guys." Will said quietly.

Mike studied his friend. He was pale and thinner but the familiar light in his eyes was still there. They unpacked their DD stuff and began their very loud game.

Jonathan watched, smiling at how easily his brothers friends cheered Will up.

"Jonathan?" Joyce asked.

Jonathan walked out of the room.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked as his mother closed the door.

"The doctors found something." She said.

"What is it?" Jonathan asked.

"They found where all the... slugs are coming from. He was some sort of um a sort of pod in his stomach. It's holding all these _things_ and whatever is inside the pod is spreading to his brain which is what's causing him to change. The doctors said that they'll have to put Will through a surgery to remove the pod." Joyce said shakily.

Jonathan was blank for a second. What his mother just said swam in his mind.

"Jonathan?" Joyce asked.

"Hm?" He said.

"It's going to be okay." Joyce said.

"I hope so..." Jonathan whispered.

It was 7pm when the doctor came into the room.

"Good evening boys." He said, peering at the game board layed out in front of them.

"I'm doctor Peters." He said, grinning.

Mike stared at him. It was the same doctor he had when he was here. He still had the strange feel about him.

"Uh... hi." Mike said awkwardly.

"Hello Michael, how are _you_ doing?" Dr. Peters asked.

"F- fine." Mike said, looking back at the game board. He looked at his friends and they looked back at him, confused expressions on their faces.

"Well anyway boys, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave." He said.

"What? Why?" Lucas said angrily.

" _Because..."_ Peters said, annoyance springing into his voice, "We have found out what's wrong with your little friend here and we need to start immediately." He said.

"Can you tell us what's wrong?" Mike asked.

Peters stared at Mike as if he wanted to punch him, "Fine.. he has a pod in his stomach that is holding the slugs. The virus is spreading to his brain which is what's causing him to change into a monster. Now please _get out_." Peters said loudly.

Dustin and Lucas stared for a second then gathered the stuff and left. Mike looked at Will.

"We'll come back as soon as we can." He said, giving Will a reassuring hug.

Doctor peters placed a hand on Mikes back as he lead him out of the room, "I wouldn't be to sure of that, _Michael."_ He whispered to Mike as he slammed the door.

"What?" Mike said, his eyes wide. "Wait." He said as he tried to open the door. It was locked.

"Mike?" Joyce asked, coming over to Mike who looked like he was trying to break down the door.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Uh... nothing." Mike said, stepping away from the door.

"You sure?" Joyce asked, she seemed unconvinced.

"Um... just keep an eye on that doctor." Mike said, walking away.

Joyce looked after Mike.

Mike walked out to the parking lot, his mind racing.

"Hey, Mike?" Lucas called to Mike.

He walked over, "Dude, you look like you've seen a ghost." Lucas said.

"There's something wrong with that doctor." Mike said.

"Uh yeah he's a grumpy old man." Dustin said.

"No it's the _same_ doctor I had and he just feels weird." Mike said.

"You're getting paranoid buddy." Lucas said.

"Maybe but after you two left I said we'd come visit Will as soon as we could and then the doctor lead me out of the room and whispered _i wouldn't be sure of that_ and then he exaggerated my name in a real creepy way." Mike said.

"Oh.. do you think..." Dustin said.

"There's no way... it shut down." Lucas said even though he didn't believe himself.

"What of the lab didn't shut down. What if they want to do experiments on Will... what if they know El is back?" Mike asked, his hands shaking.

"No... no no no.. dammit!" Lucas said.

"I swear..." Dustin muttered.

"Come on, we should talk somewhere privately." Mike said.

They agreed and piled into Jonathan's car.

Little did they know that someone was listening the entire time.

"Peters? This is Johnson. Come in Peters." Johnson said from his hiding spot.

"Yes, What is it?" Peters asked.

"The kids are onto us... especially-"

"Michael. I know and I have it under control. Just keep monitoring them. Part of our plan is almost ready, after almost two years." Peters said.

"Part of it? Only _part_ of it is ready?" Johnson asked, clearly annoyed.

" _Yes,_ you idiot and I've already told you we can't do anything until the subject and her little friend are 16." Peters responsed.

"Okay... but what part of the plan is ready?" Johnson asked.

"The beginning. The beginning of something amazingly horrifying." Peters said, grinning.

 **Wheelers house**

The kids decided to sleepover at mikes so that they could talk about the lab. They also convince Karen to let El stay over as well, as long as she slept in Nancy's room.

At around 8 the group was piled around the coffee table. They had just finished explaining what happened to El.

"So... the bad men are back?" El asked, a terrified expression on her face.

Mike grabbed her hand, "We think so..

But we're going to make sure that they don't do anything to you or Will." He said.

"But what if we can't stop them? What if they already know that I'm back and-"

"We _won't_ let them El. They've already done so much shit and we won't stand for it anymore." Lucas said.

El nodded slowly, then looked at Mike.

"You kept saying that Peters was.. strange. Besides what just happened, what else did he do?" El asked him.

"Well... when I was in the hospital he kept taking all these tests. He would hook wires up to my head and ask me to do a whole bunch of things. At the time I thought it was because I was in the Upside Down but now... I know it was something more." Mike responded.

El was silent for a moment, her eyes closed. Mike felt a prick on his head. Eleven opened her eyes quickly.

"They know." She said, a small droplet of blood appearing under her nose.

"They know what?" Dustin asked, handing El a tissue.

"They know I'm back and they know that Mike and I are connected." She said.

"But... what did you do just now?" Lucas asked.

"I uh... well I probably should've asked first but I looked into Mikes mind. There's definitely something there that wasn't there before you guys found me in the woods." She said, staring at Mike.

Mike rubbed his temple, "So... they saw whatever it was in my head that connects us?" He asked.

El nodded, frowning.

"Shit.." Lucas said.

El looked away from the group. She stood up and went over to the window, peering out into the darkness.

"El?" Mike asked, following her.

"I.. I heard something." She said.

"What did you hear?" He asked.

"It was radio static, like someone was trying to..." she went silent, her eyes widening.

"Like someone was trying to...?" Lucas asked.

"Trying to hear us. The lab. They're listening to what we're saying... they know about everything." She said, panic rising in her voice.

Mikes eyes widened.

"Those bastards!" Dustin yelled, slamming his fists on the table.

"Are you sure? I mean you could've picked up something else.." Lucas said.

"No... its them. They did it a year ago and they're doing it now.. we need to find somewhere where they can't hear us." El said.

"I know." Mike said.

"Where.. they could be anywhere." Dustin said.

"Castle Byers. Wills house is already far from the main part of Hawkins and the woods where it's at are even further." Mike said.

"Okay... we go there tomorrow and make a plan. Deal?" Lucas said.

"Deal."

 **Okay, I'll have another chapter soon and I'm kind of struggling because I have ideas for his story but I have no idea how to get to them so that they can be in the story..**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! Sorry for not being as active as I said I would be. I've been having trouble writing this and I don't know if people are still reading. Anyway here's ch. 17.**

 **August 1985**

Mike headed to castle Byers on Sunday morning to meet with his friends. He was the first to arrive so he checked with his super com and made sure no one was near the fort.

By the time everyone had arrived it was 9am.

"Why is it _so_ early..." Dustin moaned as he sat in the corner of the fort.

"Do you want Will to be taken away by the bad men?" Lucas asked.

"No but all I'm saying is I could work better with a few more hours of sleep." Dustin said.

Mike rolled his eyes.

"Can we please focus on the main reason why we're here?" He asked.

Dustin and Lucas nodded.

"Okay. So Peters said that Will was going into surgery yesterday but we don't know if they actually did anything. But what we do know is that we need to get Will out of there as soon as possible." Mike said, rolling out a map of the hospital on the floor.

"We need a plan." He said.

 **Meanwhile**

Will was sitting in a lonely hospital once again. His main doctor was really weird and will was confused as to why he hasn't gone into surgery yet. Peters literally kicked his friends out early so that he could do the surgery but he didn't do anything but glare at Will.

Will looked up as Peters walked in.

"Hello Will, id like to introduce you to Dr. Johnson." He said, as Johnson appeared from behind him.

"Hello Mr. Byers." Johnson said grimly.

"Hi." Will said softly.

"He will be helping with the surgery." Peters said.

"Oh, is that why you couldn't do it last night?" Will asked.

Peters eye twitched, "No." he said shortly.

"Then.. why didn't you do it last night like you said you would?" Will asked, starting to get mad.

Peters didn't answer. He just angrily scribbled on a clip board.

"Why did you kick my friends out? You have the information, you should get this thing out of me as soon as possible so why the heck isn't it out yet?" Will asked loudly, his face flushed.

"Because, you idiot. Your friends are in my way and if you haven't figured it out yet I don't give a damn about what you want." Peters said. He then signaled something to Johnson.

Johnson quickly stepped towards Will and held a mask over his face.

Will tried to scream as he thrashed at the doctors but was soon knocked out by the gas.

 **Castle Byers**

"Okay so we bust through the window, knock out the doctors and save will." Dustin said after he scribbled a complete mess in his notebook.

"Dude, this isn't some frickin xmen comic, we can't just bust in there like superheroes." Lucas said.

"But it'd be cool." Dustin said.

Lucas rolled his eyes.

Mike frowned. They had been writing out ideas for so long and they were worse off than when they started.

He looked over at El who had her eyes closed. Her brow was furrowed and blood appeared under her nose.

"El?" Mike asked, grabbing her hand.

El gasped and opened her eyes.

"What happened?" Mike asked immediately.

"They did something. The doctors. We need to go now." She said, getting up and running out of the fort.

"El!" Mike yelled, running after her.

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her around.

"You can't just run out there! The bad men could get you and we don't have a plan! This isn't something you can just blindly run into!" He said.

"But.." El said, tears in her eyes.

"Guys!" Dustin yelled, catching up to them with Lucas.

"I don't care. He's in trouble and I'm going right now wether you like it or not!" El said and ran for her bike.

"El!!" Mike yelled, biking after her.

 **Hospital**

Johnson pulled the mask off of Will.

"Lets go." Peters said.

They pushed Wills bed out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Joyce asked as the went through the lobby.

"We need to relocate him for the surgery, ma'am. Don't worry, once he's settled we will come and get you." Peters said in his fake kind voice.

Joyce nodded, but frowned as she sat back down.

Once they were out of view Peters and Johnson strapped Will to a wheelchair and proceeded towards the back exit. They had a van in the woods near the back of the hospital.

 **Meanwhile**

The kids raced though the woods on their bikes. El had no intention of stopping and Mike had given up on trying to stop her.

He had taken the lead.

"We need to head to the back lot so that they don't see us!" Mike yelled behind him.

"Then what?" Lucas asked.

"No idea." Mike huffed.

They neared the edge of the woods and hopped off their bikes. The back lot of the hospital was dark and broken.

"It looks like no one has been back here for years." Dustin said, stepping over a piece of flipped over concrete.

"No one has. Once the front lot was improved this part was practically forgotten. It became a junk yard. Plus it's so close to the woods, it was hard to get to." Mike said.

The back door suddenly busted open and Peters and Johnson ran out with Will.

The group ducked behind a flipped over dumpster.

"Okay, you go get the can and I'll stay here with Will." Peters said. Johnson nodded and ran off into the woods.

"Okay so there's only one guy." Dustin whispered.

A second later 3 more doctors ran out of the door.

"Hello Evans, Carlyle and Denison. Right on time." Peters said.

The three men saluted and took off their scrubs, revealing black clothing and bullet proof vests.

"Where are the weapons and rest of the protection?" Peters asked.

Evans grinned and headed over to the dumpster.

The kids clumped together and held their breath as he pulled out items from the dumpster.

He returned with guns, tasers, handcuffs and armour.

They all suited up and grabbed their weapons.

"Shit." Lucas muttered.

"We have to go, now." El said.

Mike nodded, "Stay hidden though."

Mike lead El behind an old vending machine when the guards weren't looking.

"You think you could take them out?" Mike asked.

El nodded.

"Wait! Did you lay out the gas?" Peters asked Carlyle.

He nodded and pulled out a remote and pressed a small red button.

The guards put on masks as gas erupted from different locations. Small gas capsules were hidden everywhere. One from the dumpster, the vents, vending machine and some trees.

"I would expect nothing less than his friends to try and save him." Peters said.

"Don't breathe the gas!" Mike whispered, even though it was already everywhere.

Soon enough it filled their lungs. Mikes eyes watered and his throat burned. He fell to the ground, along with El. He grabbed her hand, his eyes streaming.

It wasn't a knock out gas, just something to weaken them.

Soon enough the gas dissolved.

"Brilliant." Denison said, removing his mask. The others followed.

Mike stifled a cough. He tasted blood.

"El?" He whispered.

El was hunched over, shaking.

"El.. are you okay?" He asked, panic rising in his throat.

El nodded and sat up slowly. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.

"Powers.." she said softly, her eyes glazed.

Mikes stomach dropped. His heart skipped a beat as he heard coughing.

" _No._ " He whispered, gripping El's hand tighter.

"Over there!" Peters yelled, pointing at the dumpster.

Evans and Carlyle ran over to the dumpster.

Dustin and Lucas screamed and thrashed as the guards grabbed them from their hiding spot.

"Let us go!" Lucas yelled, his voice raspy.

"You bastards!" Dustin yelled.

The guards threw them at peters feet.

"Will!" Dustin yelled as he caught sight of his friend.

"Oh he can't hear you. Nobody can." Peters said.

Then he frowned.

"Where are the other two?" He asked.

Dustin and Lucas stayed silent, glaring at peters.

"I don't even need you two.. where are your _friends_." Peters said.

"And why the hell would we tell you?" Lucas asked.

Peters groaned. "Teenagers are so annoying." He muttered. He signaled at Evans.

Evans quickly grabbed Dustin. He held his taster to Dustins throat.

"Because if you don't tell me, your friend here gets a little zap. Ha, it won't kill him but for someone his size... it'll hurt like hell." Peters said, grinning.

"Don't tell him, I'll be fine!" Dustin yelled.

"I'm going out there." El said.

"But your powers. They'll take you." Mike said. "I'll go."

El shook her head but Mike was already standing up.

"Tell me!" Peters yelled.

Lucas was shaking. "No." He said.

"Fine." Peters said.

Evans pushed the taser into Dustins throat. Dustin screamed and fell to the ground. He yelled and thrashed. Evans let go and walked away, leaving Dustin coughing up blood on the cracked pavement.

"See what you did." Peters said.

Lucas had tears streaming down his face as he stared atDustin who was shaking and wheezing.

Mikes anger boiled over at the sight of his friends.

"Stop!" He yelled, running out from behind the dumpster which he had ran to when the guards weren't looking.

"Aha!" Peters said, pointing at mike and smiling.

Evans ran over to mike and pulled him over to peters.

"Hello Michael. It looks like your emotions got the best of you huh?" Peters said, pulling mike towards him.

"Now.. where's the girl?" He said.

Mike spit in Peters face. "Go to hell." He said.

Peters shoved mike to the ground and wiped his face.

"Now that was _rude._ " Peters said.

"Mike... what are you doing?" Lucas asked.

"Shut up. All of you." Peters said.

He signaled to his men, "Search the area."

He ordered.

" _No."_ Mike whispered.

"What was that?" Peters asked. "You hiding something, _brat?"_

Mike opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a scream. Carlyle was sent flying through the air, crashing into a tree and felling to the ground with a loud crack.

"She's here!" Peters yelled.

Denison was suddenly sent flying towards peters, hitting him as he crashed head first into the pavement.

Peters fell to the ground.

Another scream was heard but this time it was a girl.

"El!" Mike yelled.

Peters laughed hysterically as Evans returned with Eleven. She was drained and had blood coming from her nose and ears.

"Ahh, Eleven." Peters said.

El looked around, her eyes glazed. She was thrown to the ground beside Mike, who immediately pulled her close to him.

"That's not going to do much." Peters said to Mike.

Lucas got up and ran to the forest.

Evans made a move to follow him.

"Let him. We don't need him." Peters said.

In a moment Johnson returned with the van.

"Ah our ride is here." Peters smiled.

Evans grabbed El as Peters grabbed Mike. Dustin was unconscious on the ground.

Johnson hopped out and quickly unstrapped Will from the wheelchair. He lifted him into the van and strapped him to the seat.

"Tase them first." Peters said.

Mike struggled against his handcuffs.

Evans tased Eleven who yelled out and fell to the ground, unable to move.

"No!" Mike yelled, trying to get away from them.

Evans tased him. Mike screamed and fell. His whole body went limp. He tried to move but was unable to.

"This is going better than I thought." Peters said.

Evans chuckled as he lifted El. He handcuffed her and strapped her into the van. She was unable to struggle.

"Now look what you've done." Peters said, peering at Mike.

"I got the feeling that you're somewhat the leader of your little friends. So... congratulations. You just lead them straight to us. I hope you're _pleased_." Peters said,

Kneeling over Mike.

"I hope you know that what we're going to do to them is going to make them wish they were dead. And I want you to know that it's all your fault. You lead them here... _Dungeon Master._ "

Mike freed his hand from the cuff and punched peters. He was surprised he could do it and so was peters. He fell back in shock. Mike sat up and kicked him as hard as he could in the groin. Peters yelled out. Mike punched him in the gut and smashed his head into the pavement. Evans started running over to them but fell to the ground. Lucas was behind him, holding a taser gun.

"Mike!" Lucas yelled.

Mike left a barely conscious peters and ran over to Lucas.

"Come on!" He yelled. They ran to the van.

Johnson appeared from behind the open door and tased Lucas. He yelled out and fell to the ground.

"Lucas!" Mike yelled.

Johnson grabbed mikes throat. Mike gasped and started clawing and kicking at Johnson.

The edges of his vision were going black as he gasped for air.

"Leave him!" Peters yelled.

Johnson threw mike against the ground. Mikes head hit the cement with a crack.

Johnson jumped into the van.

"No.." mike whispered. All he saw was the van getting away as he slipped out of consciousness.

"Mike!" Lucas yelled.

Mike opened his eyes and felt and immediate pain in his head. He gasped for air, fumbling for his neck. He tried to sit up.

"Whoah.. take it easy." Lucas said, helping mike sit up and supporting his friends back.

Mike breathed slowly but every breath felt like fire in his lungs.

Dustin was sitting to his right. He had dried blood running down his chin.

Suddenly the memories of what just happened flooded into Mikes brain.

"Oh my god!" He tried to yell but his voice was so raspy it came out as a strangled whisper.

He tried to stand up.

"Mike! Stay down. You hit your head really hard." Dustin said.

"But they took El and Will!" Mike said, coughing.

"We know.." Lucas said.

Tears filled mikes eyes.

"No.." he whispered, holding his head.

"Boys?!"

They turned around to see Joyce running over to them.

"Mrs. Byers!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Oh my god! What happened?? I was looking for Will and I heard talking and- Oh my- Mike your head!" Joyce stuttered.

Mike sighed, tears falling down his face.

"What.. what's wrong?" Joyce asked, concern flooding her face.

"We need to tell you something." Lucas said.

They quickly explained what happened to Will and El.

Mike looked down at his bloodied knuckles, guilt boiling up inside him.

Joyce was silent for a moment. She sat in shock.

"No... no no _no NO!_ Not again!" She cried.

Dustin put a hand on her shoulder, "We tried to save him.." he croaked.

"Oh.. oh boys I know and I'm so sorry!" She cried, pulling Dustin into a hug.

"Oh.. dammit!" She said once they released.

"You told me to look out for that doctor Mike and I just... I _didn't_ and now they've taken Will and.. and El!" She said.

Mike just nodded slightly.

"Mike?" Joyce asked.

He looked at her, his eyes red.

"We're going to get them back." She said. Suddenly she was calm. Joyce stood up and wiped her hands on her pants. She helped the boys up, her face stern.

"Come on, we're going to the Chief." She said, her voice filled with rage.

 **Hehehe.. sorry.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys! I'm baaaack :)** **Police Station**

Mike sat in the corner of the cramped room. He knew that Joyce was frantically talking to Hopper but he couldn't hear anything. It was all just dull sounds. The room was spinning and he felt like he was going to be sick. All he could think about was what Peters said to him. He did lead them there. He did make the plan to save Will. And he did fail horribly. His head swarmed with thoughts of everything he did wrong. The intense throbbing didn't help.

 _I cant sit here anymore._

Mike ran out of the room and out of the police station. He was halfway across the parking lot when he heard his name being called.

"Mike! Mike where are you going?" Lucas yelled after his friend.

Mike stopped. He looked at the sky and then at the ground. His face felt hot and his eyes stung.

"Mike? Are you o-" Dustin started saying.

"What do you think?! Does it _look_ like I'm _okay_? This isn't something I can just be okay about!" Mike yelled.

"Well no but none of us are okay.. we just want to know.. um how.. how you're feeling." Dustin said softly.

Mike exploded. "You want to know how I'm feeling?? How do you _think_ it feels to know that you practically lead your friends into a giant trap? How do you _think_ it feels to know that people you love are stuck in hell because of you? How the hell do you _think_ it feels to be so f*ing helpless when you're friends are in danger because you screwed up. Again." Mike yelled. He felt hot tears rush down his face. He turned away from his friends, his head throbbing.

"Mike... you cant blame yourself for this.." Lucas said, taking a step towards Mike.

Mike shook his head.

"No, Mike. This isn't your fault." Dustin said.

"Really? Who's idea was it to play hero and go save Will? Who made the plan that caused all this? Who f*ing _lead_ us to them? _Me!_ I'm the stupid idiot that screwed us over! And I.. I-" Mike slumped to the ground. He pulled his knees to his chest.

"I. Did. This." he sobbed.

Lucas and Dustin ran over to him.

Lucas kneeled beside him and pulled him into a hug. Dustin did the same.

Mike just buried his head further into his knees.

"I know I can't stop you from blaming yourself. But please... don't break on us now." Lucas said softly, his voice cracking.

"Yeah... Mike. You hold us together and we would have already fallen apart by now if you weren't here." Dustin said.

Mike looked up at them. Tears painted his face. He gave a slight nod but still had on the same, scarred expression as before.

 **One word for ya. Bromance.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello beauts :)**

Hawkins Lab- August 30th

El jolted awake. Her head was spinning and everything was blurry. She took in quick, shaky breaths.

 _Where am I? what happened?_ She sat up and noticed that she was on a hard, plain white bed. Her heart skipped a beat. She looked around and took in the horribly familiar tiled room. It was her old bedroom.

 _No. no no no._

Her eyes stung as she got out of the bed. She looked around and found a camera in the corner of the room. Her body ached as she looked up at it. She cracked the lens.

"No more." She muttered.

She sunk to the floor. The tiles were cracked and covered in grime but it was still the same cell she lived in once.

Suddenly all the memories of what happened flooded into her mind. Her heart dropped.

"Will?!" she cried out.

She ran to the door.

"Will?!" She yelled as she pounded her fists against the rusted metal.

"El."

El whipped around.

Will was sitting in the back corner of the room. He was pale and had bruises all over his body. He looked like he hadn't slept a night in his life.

"Will." El whispered as she ran over to her brother.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. He shivered but held onto her.

"What did they do to you?" She asked.

"Not much... tried to get me to do.. things." Will whispered.

"Like what?" El asked.

"Find monsters." Will muttered, his voice cracking.

El gasped.

"They.. want to u-use them." Will forced out before he fell unconscious.

"Will? No.. come on stay with me." El cried as she held him closer.

She squeezed her eyes shut and rocked back and forth.

 _Mike._

She tried to reach for him.

"Mike!" She yelled.

Nothing.

Hot tears fell down her face.

"Please!" She cried louder.

 **Wheelers** Mike sat on the floor, leaning against his bed. He held the supercom in his lap. He looked at his watch and grimaced.

 _11:00pm_ He fiddled with the knobs on the machine and tried anything he could think of. He had to reach her.

 _El?_ Nothing.

Mike grew frustrated. He couldn't do anything. The thought of telling his mom what happened crossed his mind.

She knew about Will and how he was taken to the Upside Down but that was all Mike was able to tell her. Hopper said it was for her safety but Mike thought it was stupid not to tell her. Yeah, she didn't know about what the lab _really_ did or that El was Eleven but Mike needed to go look for his friends. Wether she knew or not.

Mike quietly walked down the stairs and was about to head to the basement when he was stopped.

"And what do you think youre doing?" Karen asked.

Mike turned and found his mom sitting in the kitchen.

"Uh.." Mike stuttered.

"It's a _school_ night Michael. And don't try to tell me that you're sleeping down there again." Karen said sternly.

"Okay.. Mom, I need to tell you something." Mike said.

Karen nodded and gestured for Mike to come sit by her.

"So.. you know how Will was taken to the Upside down and then started turning into a monster a while after he got back?" Mike asked.

"Yes." Karen said.

"Well.. he's been in the hospital recently and there were people at the hospital who were posing as doctors because they wanted to do experiments on him. And I knew this so we went to go get him out of the hospital but then-" Mike blurted out but was soon cut off by Karen.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa. Mike, this... this is nonsense honey." She said.

"No mom, this is reality. The lab is trying to-"

" _Michael._ The lab shut down almost _two_ years ago. This nonsense about the lab trying to do these horrible things _needs_ to stop. Look, I know you're under a lot of stress because of your friend but this has _nothing_ to do with the laboratory. They only made weapons for the military. You need to stop making yourself believe that they're evil." She said.

" _Mom_. They are literally doing experiments on _kids_. On my _friends._ " Mike said loudly.

Karen frowned.

"You know I really thought you were over this. What you're believing is going to get you in trouble. And I'm not the only one who thinks that. Listen, today while you were.. out I was visited by a government official. They say that you're after that _girl_ that you were involved with in 83. Now they also told me that she is dangerous. More so right now. I do not need you going after someone like that. you could get yourself killed. And-"

"Do you even hear yourself when you talk?! Will and El are _missing_ Mom! The lab has them and we _have_ to get them back!" Mike yelled.

Karen slammed her hands on the table.

"STOP IT! You are _not_ looking for your friends because they probably just ran away. And I'm having a government official come here and watch you so they can make sure you don't go after that _girl_. And if you don't stop talking nonsense, I'm sending you to a therapist because something has obviously gotten into your head. Now go to your room!" Karen yelled.

Mike stood in shock as his mothers words hit him. He slowly stepped back and then ran up the stairs, slamming his door.

He collapsed against his bed.

"This is their plan." he whispered.

 **Hehehe. Karen has fallen under the labs spell ooooooh. So Im introducing my own character that I've been working on soon. Hope you don't mind..**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey guys! I hope you're enjoying the story and please keep reading because some stuff is about to go down :P** **Wheelers**

Mike was stalling. He knew that his mom had gotten some sort of government official to watch him and Mike wanted nothing to do with him. He'd been awake for twenty minutes and was trying to contact his friends.

"Guys? We need to talk, are you there?" Mike whispered into his supercom.

"Yeah, I'm here what is it? Over." Lucas' voice erupted from the speakers.

"You're not going to believe this but.." Mike explained what the lab did and what his mom was doing.

"Those bastards. I can't believe that they tricked your mom into getting a frickin guard. Who is he?" Lucas said, clearly angered.

"I don't know, I've been stalling. I knew I should've told my mom about everything sooner." Mike muttered.

"Well.. We gotta tell Dustin what happened. And Max, she doesn't even know what happened to Will and El.." Lucas said, growing quieter as he spoke his friends names.

"Yeah.. Ill be out soon and then we can meet up at Dustin's. Over and out." Mike said.

"Over and out."

Mike put the supercom in a drawer and grabbed his backpack. He opened the door and found a man in a suit standing in the doorway.

"Agh!" Mike yelled in surprise.

"Hello." The man said as he stepped away.

"Uh.. hi?" Mike said awkwardly.

"I'm Sam Parkinson. I've been assigned to watch you so you don't get into any danger. Or anymore trouble." Sam said, gesturing towards the bruise on mike's head.

"Yeah.." Mike muttered.

He headed down the stairs and Sam followed close behind him.

"Good morning." Karen said as Mike entered the kitchen.

"Privacy is important in the morning." Mike muttered.

"Well, Sam was just making sure you didn't sneak out of the window or something." Karen said.

Mike stared at her dully, "I'm on the second floor. You would seen me if I climbed out of the window." He said as he headed out the door. He knew that he shouldn't be mad at his mom but as of right now, he was fuming.

Sam followed him.

"I'm instructed to make sure you get to school and back safely." He said as Mike got on his bike.

"Well I ride my bike to school. Get in your car." He snapped.

"Look kid, I'm only doing my job so if you could drop the attitude maybe we could come to an agreement." Sam said.

"No. You literally came over here to make sure that I don't go looking for my friends. They're in danger and they mean a lot to me. So don't think for a _second_ that we will ever get along. I don't give a damn if your just _doing your job_. Your job is the reason my friends are in hell right now." Mike yelled.

Sam stared at him for a second.

"I'm here to make sure that you don't go looking for subject 011- for whatever reason. I work for the government and that's connected to the lab, which for your information only made military devices and has been shut down for two years. Let me do my job kid." Sam said.

"How stupid are you? You just said it yourself. If The lab only made military things, then why are they looking for a _test subject_. A _human being._ " Mike said.

Then he left Sam standing in the driveway.

 **Lunch** "Okay okay, so the lab kidnapped Will and El for whatever reason. And then they got your mom to get you a _guard?_ " Max asked.

Mike nodded.

"When will they quit?" She yelled, her face read.

"Who knows. But right now we need to figure out how to get them out." Dustin said.

"And I need to get rid of _Sam_." Mike said, his face in his hands.

"Sam?" Lucas asked.

"The guard. Sam Parkinson. One of the dumbest people I've ever met." Mike said.

"Speaking of which." Lucas muttered, pointing at Troy.

He walked over with and slammed his hands on the table.

"Hello _freaks._ " He said, grinning.

"Are you seriously still doing this?" Mike asked.

"Well yes frogface. Freaks like you deserve a little attention. You know since you basically have no friends." Troy laughed.

"Your an immature little dick." Max said, throwing her pudding at him.

Troy caught it, opened it and dumped it onto Dustin's head.

"HeyYyy!" Dustin yelled, ripping off his pudding covered hat.

"Wow, that must be like your dream hat Toothless." Troy said.

"Go away." Lucas said.

Troy grinned and looked over the group.

"I see that the queer and weirdo are missing. Were they to scared to come to the big bad school?" Troy said in a fake baby voice.

"Shut up." Mike said.

"Ooooh I almost forgot Froggy, you have fweelings for the wittle weirdo. I have no idea why because she's obviously screwed up in the head. That's probably why she hangs out with you, she doesn't understand what kind of lame people you are. In fact she probably doesn't even understand what you feel for her little fro-"

Mike stood up and punched Troy in the face.

"Don't you _ever_ talk about her like that! You will never understand what she's been through, HELL what shes _going_ through! She is ten times the person you are and you have no f*ing right to even _think_ about her! Do you understand me?! You _stay_ away from us and you shut your damn mouth or I swear I will do much worse." Mike yelled at Troy.

Troy looked up at Mike, holding his bloodied face. Then he ran back to his table.

Mike sat down, fuming.

"Jesus, Mike that was badass." Max said.

"He had it coming." Mike muttered.

 **Lab** El had lifted Will onto the hard bed and was still hugging him. She was trying her best to warm him up, but he was still cold as ice.

she closed her eyes.

 _Mike? Are you there? Please..._

The door swung open.

El looked over as Two men walked in. She held Will tighter.

"Hello Eleven." Peters said, grinning.

"My name is El." She said.

"No, I don't think so. See that mark on your wrist? That's you. You are Subject 011 of Hawkins Laboratory. And your father's work was never finished." Peters said.

El shook her head.

"You see. Brenner had great plans for you. But I have better ones. Just invision it. We don't use metal weapons, but living ones. We get the monsters from the gate and we transform _them_ into big, beautiful weapons. We'd be unstoppable. But why stop there when you could also use _people_. We're actually in the process of testing this on your little friend." Peters said.

El looked down at Will.

"Oh no not him, he's the monster." Peters laughed.

El's heart dropped. "Mike." She whispered.

Peters smiled. "Smart girl. I've been watching you two and the connection you share is incredible."

El winced. "Dont use that word." She whispered.

"Incredible? Ooh I forget. It means something to you. Oh well. Anyway, you won't know what we are doing to your friend until it's done. Ooooh the Suspense. It's rather thrilling if you think about it." Peters laughed.

"You're insane." El said.

"Maybe. But I'm a man with a plan. And it's going wonderfully." Peters said.

"Now, get him." He said.

Johnson stepped forward and stick a syringe into El's neck.

"No!" She screamed, feeling her body go limp.

They pulled Will away from her.

"WILL! NO NO WILL!" she screamed as they took him away.

"Sleep tight." Peters grinned.

El felt herself slipping away and soon she was engulfed in darkness.

 **So I'm turning Peters into a mad man with a horrible sense of humour. His humour shows up in the worst of times but that just adds to his character.**


	21. Chapter 22

**Hey guys! I'm introducing my oc in this chapter and I think you'll find her interesting ;)**

Onemonth later

It was 3 am and Mike was planning yet another rescue plan. He had been talking to Lucas all night and they finally came up with something that might work. There was just one problem.

Sam.

Mike had tried on multiple occasions to leave but Sam always stopped him. But this time, he would fight back.

"Okay, I'm going to get rid of Sam and then I'll call you. Be near the phone." Mike whispered into his supercom.

"Get rid of him? Youre not gonna-" Lucas stuttered.

"Of course I'm not gonna kill him! I'm going to lock him in a closet or something." Mike muttered.

"Alright. See you soon. Over and out." Lucas said.

"Over and out."

Mike crept over to his door and looked through the crack under the door. Sure enough Sam's feet were there. Mike slowly opened the door.

"Going somewhere?" Sam asked.

"Uh yeah. The bathroom." Mike responded.

"No you're not. You're fully dressed and have your shoes on." Sam said.

"Uh.." Mike whispered.

He punched Sam in the face, knocking him into the door.

"Shit!" Mike yelled, running down the stairs.

He could hear Sam close behind him.

Mike was just grabbing the door knob when he was yanked back. Sam held his arms behind his back.

"Let me go!" Mike yelled.

"This- is for- your own Good!" Sam stuttered.

He then stuck a syringe into Mike's neck. The bright red liquid quickly activated. Mike's body felt like it was on fire as he fell to the ground, completely limp. His vision went blurry as he lost consciousness.

lab

El woke to the heavy door opening. She looked up but only saw blurs. She rubbed her eyes.

"Good morning Eleven!" Peters sickly happy voice echoed through the room.

El grunted.

"Yeah, you might feel a little disoriented. That was some heavy stuff you took there. Again. Look I know we've been dosing you a lot but your just really annoying when you're awake." Peters said.

"Where's Will?" El asked.

"Oh he's.. uh.. doing things." Peters said.

"Is he? Or are you doing things to him?" Eleven muttered.

"Yes. Uh we are testing him. You see it's like when you get a new dog and it's all weird. You gotta learn about it and train it. That's what we're doing. We're learning how Willie transforms into a monster and then we're gonna train it." Peters said, clapping his hands.

"He's not a dog. Or a science experiment. And he certainly isn't a monster. He's a scared, 14 year old boy." El said.

"No, Eleven he's not. He's a monster. And he's no longer your brother. Oh and uh.. you're the bait." Peters laughed.

"Bait?" Eleven asked.

"For your friend back home. He's gotta do something like go after you so we can inject him without it lookin _bad_." Peters grinned.

"You're _injecting_ him?!" El yelled, throwing Peters into the wall.

Johnson ran forward and stick the syringe into her neck.

"Well yes, how else will he be turned into a weapon?" Peters grimaced.

 **Wheelers**

"What did you do to him?" Karen's voice sounded from outside Mike's door.

He was in his bed with a massive headache.

"I injected him with a calming syrum. It's completely harmless and helps him. This marks the 20th time he's tried to go after subject 011. I think it's time that he goes and talks to someone." Sam said.

"Like a therapist?" Karen asked.

Mike jolted up. His head swam but he didn't care. He ran over and opened the door.

"I am _not_ going to a therapist!" He stated.

"Oh Mike, honey. I'm just doing what's best for you and your obviously more scarred than I thought." Karen said.

"I'm not scarred and if you were doing what's best for me you would get rid of Sam and let me go find my friends!" Mike yelled.

Karen frowned. "Michael, I'm sending you to a therapist _today_ because I want you to get better and you can't do that unless someone convinces you that what you're saying is crazy." She grabbed his hand and pulled him downstairs.

"Mom! Please I don't need a therapist." Mike protested.

"Yes you do! Something clearly happened to you and it's effecting you negatively." Karen yelled.

"No! I'm not the one who needs help!" Mike screamed at his mother, ripping his hand away.

Nancy ran down the stairs.

"What are you guys yelling about?" She asked.

"Mom's trying to send me to a therapist!" Mike said.

"What? Why?" Nancy asked.

"Because whatever happened in 83 is effecting him. He thinks the lab is evil and that it captured his friends. And now he's trying to go after this lab rat that is very dangerous and I won't have it anymore!" Karen yelled.

"Mom.. Mike isn't crazy. The lab does experiments on people." Nancy said.

"You too? Do I need to take you with us? Come on Nancy, you're supposed to take my side so we can help your brother." Karen said.

"Mom. Listen-" Nancy started.

"No. Don't feed into his beliefs. He needs help and I really thought you were old enough to not believe crazy stories like that." Karen said, grabbing Mike's hand.

"We're going." She stated.

 **Therapist**

"Mom, just let me explain it to you. Please I'm not-" Mike started.

"No Michael. I've already looked into this place and I think talking to her will help you." Karen said as she lead him into the office.

 _Oh my god. My mom's a frickin nutcase._

"Hello I'm Here to see Miss Scott." Karen said to the front desk.

"Oh yeah we have an appointment for a Michael Wheeler?" The receptionist said.

"That's my son." Karen replied.

"Right well Miss Scott is right over there, she's with someone right now but she'll be done shortly."

Karen nodded and lead Mike to the waiting area.

Mike slumped down in the chair.

"This will be good for you." Karen said.

Mike just glared at the floor.

A few minutes later a loud crash was heard from the therapists room.

"Georgia no! You cannot take my cups!" A woman yelled.

"But I need them! I ran out and Honestly I can't Affowd the nice cups at the storah." Another woman with a strong jersey accent replied.

The door suddenly opened and a short woman waddled out holding stacks of paper cups.

"Byeeee Scotty I'll see ya next week!" Georgia yelled as she quickly exited.

A flushed Woman stood in the door frame, looking after her client.

"I swear that woman will be the end of me." She muttered.

"Uh Miss Scott you have someone here to see you." The receptionist said.

"Oh, uh Oh hi I'm Adeline." Adeline said as she spotted Karen and Mike.

"I'm Karen Wheeler and this is my son Mike." Karen said, shaking Adeline's hand.

Mike stared at her. He was expecting a cranky old lady but Adeline didn't even look 21.

"Hi." Mike mumbled.

"Well if you would come this way, We can get started." Adeline said, motioning to her room.

Mike followed her. Karen stayed in the waiting area.

"Whoa." Mike whispered as he walked into the room.

The walls were pastel yellow with big white daisies spread across the wall. In the middle of the room there were two teal couches facing eachother with a white coffee table in the middle. A large window covered most of the wall to the left and a big white bookcase covered the back wall. There were also lots of flower pots scattered around the room and many lamps.

"I know right? People are always so shocked when they walk in because they expect a dull boring room. But I love colors." Adeline said as she sat on one of the plush couches. Her long blonde curls bouncing. She had bright blue eyes, freckles and a soft pink dress on. She looked like something straight out of a kids book.

Mike sat across from her.

"So.. hi." Mike said awkwardly.

"Hello Mike." Adeline said.

"I don't really know how these things go. What do we do?" Mike asked.

"Well.. this isn't going to be like anything you imagined." Adeline said as she stood up and locked the door. Then she pulled the curtains closed.

"What are you doing?" Mike asked, tensing up.

Adeline took off her white framed glasses and sat back down.

"So I don't want to come off as a bad person because I'm not. I hate the lab and everything to do with it and I have _never_ worked for them. Sure I've been there a lot but that's just because my dad worked there but he didn't know what they actually did." Adeline said very quickly.

"I'm sorry.. What? I didn't say anything about the lab." Mike said, his heart quickening.

"Oh right. Sorry. Um so I know all about Eleven, The upside down, what it did to Will and How there is a guard at your house." Adeline said.

"Uhh.." Mike stuttered. He was at a loss for words.

"Okay so.. I knew Eleven before she escaped. I went to the lab a lot because of my dad so I would wonder around. And then I found her when she was.. 5? Yes I think so. Well I was ten when I found her and I became her friend." Adeline began.

"She didn't talk very much but I would try my best to teach her some things. I would also sneak her food. Anyway that went on for a couple years until Brenner found out and fired my dad. I felt horrible. Anyway that was when she was 12. Once my dad was fired I realized I couldn't just leave her there so when he was collecting his stuff I snuck off to see her. And then I helped her escape." Adeline said.

"What.. But shes never said anything about you." Mike said.

"I know. As we were escaping, the guards were following us and I just wanted to give her the best chance she could get. And so I got her our of the lab but before she went through the tunnel I erased her memory of me. Because I knew she would try to come back and all I wanted was for her to get away and find people who would help her. And she did an amazing job at that." Adeline responded.

"So.. you knew her, helped her escape, erased her memory and got captured by the lab?" Mike asked, his mind racing.

"Well I wasn't captured, I was just interigated a lot until my dad found out. I was released a couple months after she escaped. But it was worth it." Adeline said.

"Okay but how do you know about what happened to Will, El and me?" Mike asked.

"Once I got out I did a crap ton of research and I found out anything I could. Then I just kept an eye on all of you and the lab." Adeline explained.

"What the.. I oh my god.." Mike stuttered.

"Okay this is a lot to take in.. I get that but I need to show you something." Adeline said.

She got up and walked over to the large bookcase. Mike followed. She pulled a bright green book down. The bookcase separated into two parts, revealing an entrance. Adeline put in a passcode and the doors opened. She lead Mike down a dimly lit staircase that leads into a big room. It had all sorts of computers and chemicals. It was as bright as the other room.

"Welcome to my Lab." Adeline said.

"What..." Mike stared in awe.

"Yeah I'm a science geek and I've been working on how to help your friend and bring back El's memories." She said, pointing at multiple colorful bottles of chemicals.

"So.. Youre not part of the Lab?" Mike asked.

"Of course not. I Hate them and want nothing but to see them destroyed." She responded.

"Adeline-" Mike started.

"Call me Scott. I always found that Adeline was to serious or classy of a name for me." Scott said.

"Okay, Scott.. are you like a spy or something because I have no idea how you could've found out about all the things that you know." Mike said.

"Yes. I work for a secret organisation that goes after paranormal or out of the ordinary cases. I was drawn to this one because I was technically a part of it." Scott responded.

"You were with an organisation? But- how old are you?" Mike asked.

"I'm 19. I started about two years ago and a couple of weeks ago I started as a therapist. The organisation requires you to have an actual job and I was busy up until now." She explained.

"What's the organisation?" Mike asked, absolutely bewildered.

"It's small, only composed of about 100 people. It's in places across Indiana and it's called the Reverse Desolation. Desolation means emptiness or destruction and by reversing it we get rid of what's causing it. Which is why we follow strange cases." Scott explained.

"Wow.. and you're completely okay with telling me this? You're not worried that I'm gonna tell anyone?" Mike asked.

"Oh I expect you to tell your friends. But you're a good kid Mike. You're Loyal and you're a leader." Scott responded.

Mike frowned, "I've been a real crappy leader recently." He muttered.

"Look. Everyone wanted to go save Will. You all went to the hospital, knowing that something could go wrong. That's not your fault." Scott said.

Mike shrugged.

"Anyway, I'm telling you because you're suffering. You're pulling yourself down because of what happened and you're paying the price for that. I just want to help." She said, placing her hands on his shoulders.

Mike looked up at her and cracked a grin, "So you're not actually going to be a therapist to me are you?" He asked.

"Not unless you want me to because I'll be all for it." Scott chuckled.

"no no no.. I'm good. I'm just happy that someone understands what I'm going through." Mike said.

"A lot more people understand than you think." Scott said softly.

Mike nodded.

"Now, do you think you can come back tomorrow?" Scotty asked.

"You'll probably have to talk to my mom because If I say anything she'll probably think I won't need these visits anymore." Mike replied.

Scotty grinned.

They continued talking about the events of the past two years until their time ran out.

"Well, I hope to see you soon and please understand that we're here to help." Scotty said as she walked Mike out of the door, talking so Karen could hear what she said.

"So, how did he do?" Karen asked.

"He seems to be shaken up about what happened to him so I think it'll help if he comes Monday to Friday." Scotty said.

"Oh that will work. Thank you for what you're doing." Karen said.

Scotty nodded.

"Well we better get going, goodbye." Karen said as she headed for the door.

Mike grinned at Scotty, "Thanks." He whispered.

She smiled at him.

 **This chapter took me two frickin days! Anyway I hope you like my oc. What do you think about her?**


	22. Chapter 22 (07-14 21:05:27)

**Hey guys!! I'm happy that you guys seem to like Scott because she's going to pop up a lot :)**

One week later

Mike rode his bike to the office. As he locked up his bike he noticed the bright colorful sign on the front of the building.

 _That's new._

The sign read Blue Bird Therapy. Mike grinned.

He walked in and sat down as the receptionist nodded at him.

He waited in his usual seat, expecting the yelling to start soon.

"Scotty! You have to let me have this please! My babies will love it!" Georgia pleaded loudly.

"No Georgia. Every time you come here you try to take something! I have no more pillows!" Scott yelled back.

"But I've always wanted one!" Georgia whined.

The door opened and Georgia walked out, cradling a lamp.

Scott gently took it away from her.

"You can't have my lamp Georgie... Have a nice night though." Scott said.

"Fine. Bye Scotty, see ya next Thursday!" Georgia said on her way out.

Mike raised his eyebrows at Scott.

"Don't ask." She said, walking into her office.

Mike chuckled as he followed her.

Scott locked the door behind him and closed the curtains as usual. She opened the door to her lab and the duo quickly went down the staircase.

"So, find anything new?" Mike asked.

Over the last week they had been working on a memory syrum, healing tonic and trying to figure out what Sam was injecting into Mike, which had been happening every night now.

"A little.. I looked into who your guard was. Samuel Parkinson. He worked at the lab when I was a kid. He was a weird guy and was only given small jobs even though he had military experience. He used to buy me soap. I have no idea why but I always assumed he was a clean freak. Anyway it turns out Sam actually never worked in the real part of the lab. He never knew about El until recently. He was as blind as my dad. Still is apparently." Scott said.

"So... he doesn't know anything about the Upside Down or what the lab has done?" Mike asked.

"Nope. Only knows to keep you away from the lab. There's a good chance he doesn't even know what the syrum he's injecting you with really is." Scott explained.

"Yeah, he said it was a calming syrum and that's probably what he thinks it is." Mike said.

"So, have you been feeling different lately? Like off or something?" Scott asked.

"Uh... I feel light headed but it only lasts a couple minutes and happens a few times a day." Mike answered.

"It happens daily?" Scott asked.

Mike nodded.

"I wish I could get a sample.." Scott muttered as she types something into her computer.

"Well, since he's injecting me with it, won't it be in my blood?" Mike suggested.

Scott face palmed.

"Yes!" She said.

"Great. So you get a sample from me and then we can figure out what it is." Mike said.

"Yes yes yes. Mike you're a genius!" Scott said as she got a syringe.

"I have my moments." Mike grinned.

"Okay.. gonna feel a pinch but I only need a little so it'll be over soon." Scott said as she stuck the syringe into his arm.

It quickly filled and she covered the hole with a cotton ball. She handed him a bandaid and went over to her computer.

"Okay now I just have to analyze this. I should have answers by tomorrow. Thanks buddy, this was a huge help." Scott said as she poured his blood into a small tube.

Mike nodded.

"Now I have more news." Scott said.

"What is it?" Mike asked.

"Well I'm going to start off with saying that it's bad news. Really bad news." Scott began.

Mike tenses up.

"So I went to the lab and used this," Scott said as she held up a device. It was a clear disk, wires and headphones. "and I caught something Peters was saying. He was explaing his plan."

Mike nodded along, gripping the table.

Scott fidgeted with her device, "He uh.. he wants to get monsters from the Upside Down and.. um train them to be weapons." She explained.

Mike's heart skipped a beat.

"That's why he took Will. Because he can turn into... something." Scott said quietly.

Mikes knuckles turned white. He glared at the table.

"Mike?" Scott asked, placing his hand over his.

"We have to get them back." Mike muttered.

"We will." Scott said. She turned his head up to her, "We're going to get them back. But we're going to need help."

"Who did you have in mind?" Mike asked, releasing his grip on the table.

"Well I'm allowed 10 agents in case of an emergency. But I was also thinking of gathering people." Scott explained.

"Like who?" Mike asked even though he felt like he already knew.

"Um... Hopper, Joyce, Jonathan, Nancy, Dustin, Lucas and anyone else who knows about the lab and what it's doing." Scott said.

Mike nodded slowly. "We need to have a meeting." He said.

"Yeah. How about Sunday? So then youll have time to explain things to them. Then we can discuss the lab." Scott suggested.

"Yeah. I can do that, Thanks Scott." Mike said.

Scott grinned.

Lab

El stared at the ceiling. The whole time that she's been here all they've done is talked and dosed her. She hasn't seen Will in a month and is slowly shrinking away again.

 _No.. I won't loose to them again._ She swore to herself. She sat up and touched her head. She was relived that they hadn't shaved her head. Her fingers intertwined with the curls that now touched the bottom of her ears.

"Mike?" She whispered.

It was all she could do. She was stuck in her cell and all she could do was try. Everyday she tries to contact him. Everyday she failed. She has no doubt in her mind that he was trying to. She was just to weak.

"I'm here. Please... Mike... hear me." She whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek.

She jumped as the door swung open. A light was shone in her eyes so she couldn't see anything. There was a thud followed by a moan. The door slammed shut.

El rubbed her eyes. She looked down at what they had thrown in.

"Will!" She cried, jumping off the bed. She pulled him close to her and craddled him. She brushed his matted hair out of his eyes.

"Will? Will please wake up." She cried.

Wills eyes shot open as he gasped for air. He began to fight but then realized it was El who was holding him.

"El?" He asked, utter amazement in his eyes.

El nodded and pulled him into a hug.

"Oh i thought I'd never see you again." Will said, his voice muffled by her shoulder.

"I'm never going to leave you. I promise." El said.

The siblings parted, although they kept their hands tightly clasped over one another's.

"What did they do to you?" El asked, tracing the bruises and cuts on his face. The wounds covered his arms, legs and hands. No doubt his entire body. El bit her lip.

"They.." Wills eyes shone with tears. "They made me turn again. I didn't want to I- I tried my hardest to fight it but they forced me to Ellie.. I'm sorry.. El I-" Will shuddered. He hugged himself, his cries racking his body.

"Hey hey Will. This isn't your fault. You didn't mean to. Listen to me, youre a great person Will. One of the best people I know. And no matter what happens, that won't change. I promise." El said, holding his shoulders.

Will looked up at her.

"El.. I opened a gate... They put me back in that- that place.. i-" Will cried, biting his lip.

El stares at him, concern etched across her face.

"I killed people." Will sobbed.

El immediately pulled him into a tight hug. He hugged her back, holding fist fulls of her shirt.

"I did to..." She whispered.

"We never wanted to... It's not your fault Will. It never has been and it never will be." She kissed the top of his head.

Will slowly calmed down, still holding onto her. Will looked up at her.

"Hey El?" He asked quietly.

She locked eyes with him, "Yeah?"

"I love you." He said.

"I love you too." She said softly.

 **Awwww sibling love. But seriously the lab is absolute crap. Really loving having Scott in the story :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, I started marching band recently and I've just been so frickin tired. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

Monday, November 13th

Mike walked into Blue Bird Therapy at 5pm. He sat in his usual seat and waited for Georgia to create an unnecessary scene.

To his surprise Georgia just quietly walked out.

"Hi Mike." She said softly, a grin on her face.

Mike turned to Scott as she appeared in the window. He raised his eyebrows.

Scott grinned, "Her husband won the lottery." She said as Mike walked into the colorful room.

"So does that mean she won't try to take anything?" Mike asked.

"She will probably get back into her old habits soon. Also what a great time to win the lottery because she just found out shes pregnant." Scott said as she dealt with the door and curtains.

"Again? Doesn't she have like 7 kids." Mike asked, putting in the code to the secret door.

"Yep. She just won't stop. That woman has an obsession with babies." Scott said as they headed down to the lab.

"So what did you find out?" Mike asked as he sat in his swivel chair.

"I found out what is in the syrum." Scott said as she gathered together some papers.

"Really? What's in it?" Mike asked eagerly.

Scott frowned. "With what I found I concluded that they want to use both you and Will in their plan." She explained, sitting down.

"What? How?" Mike asked, fumbling with his hands.

"Well you know how I said that they plan to train monsters? Well they also want to use people and since they failed with El, they found a new way. You." Scott said.

Mikes throat went dry.

"You see. Whatever was in that syrum. It's effecting you. It's enhanced in so many ways that I'm surprised you're not imploding. I think.. I think that they're giving you powers." Scott explained, her eyes cloudy.

Mikes fingernails dug into his palms. His mind was racing. "So.. every time that I've been injected.. it's been putting all these enhanced chemicals in my body? But I haven't felt anything yet or done anything- are you sure-" Mike stuttered.

"Mike." Scott said softly, placing her hand over his.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you. I've been working on something to stop it all night but what they're doing is beyond what I know. Peters is a genius. But I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure you and you're friends are going to make it. I promise." She said.

Mike stared at her. He took in a shaky breath, "Ok." He whispered.

Scott hugged him.

"Now I have more bad news I'm afraid." She said as they parted.

Mike sighed. "It never ends when we're dealing with the lab."

"Its about Hopper." Scott said, pulling out some pictures.

Mike took them. His eyes widened as he flipped through them. The pictures showed Hopper at the lab on multiple occasions. It showed him talking to Peters.

Mike's head swam.

"What are these?" he asked.

"Hopper has been working with the lab ever since El disappeared. He was the one who put food in the box. He knew she was alive. He.. He made a deal with them back on the night she vanished. The deal was that he and Joyce would get the supplies they needed to save Will.. but in return, Hopper had to give up El's location and then continue to work for the lab afterwards." Scott explained, her voice shaking.

Mike glared at the photos. "He knew." His voice was low. "He knew the whole time and didn't even _tell_ anyone.." Mike started pacing.

"Mike?" Scott asked.

"He didn't even _say_ anything! Do you know how many nights went by where I actually believed she was dead. Or that I could've done more to help her? And he just sat there, working for Peters and _knowing_ that she was alive!" Mike yelled. He stopped pacing. "He gave up our location.. He told them where we were hiding! She couldve never disappeared if he hadn't told them where we were. He out us all at risk because he wanted to prove something. To redeem himself! That son of a-" My said, his face flushed.

"Mike. I know you're mad. I am too but how else would you have gotten Will back. I know it was still a dick move. But that's not as bad as working with the lab and knowing she was alive. Hell, he's still working with the lab." Scott said, standing up.

"We need to talk to him." Mike said.

Scott nodded.

 **Byers**

Joyce sat at the kitchen table, her head in her hands.

"Hey." Hopper said, handing her a cup of coffee as he sat down next to her.

"Hey." Joyce mumbled.

"Look, we're going to get them back, okay?" Hopper said, holding her hand.

"But how do you know that. I mean I- I promised to protect El and now she's gone... And I had just gotten Will back. My kids are missing Hop.. And Jonathan.. I feel like I've failed all of them." Joyce cried, her hands shaking.

"Hey.. hey Joyce you didn't fail them. Any of them. You're their mother and they know that you would do anything to get them home. You're a great mother Joyce." He said.

"I just want them home. I want them to be safe and happy..." Joyce said sadly.

A loud knock on the door made them both Jump.

"I'll get it." Hopper said.

Mike pounded on the door.

Hopper opened it, looking worn.

"Mike? What the hell are you doing here, kid?" Jim asked.

"I need to talk to you. Right now." Mike said.

"About what?" Jim asked, staring at Scott.

"I know what you did and what you're doing. With the lab." Mike said, stepping into the house. Scott ducked in after him.

"What do you mean?" Jim asked, acting confused.

"Mike? Wha- What are you doing here?" Joyce asked, softly.

"I'm here to talk to Hopper." Mike answered, glaring at the Chief.

"Kid I don't know what you're tal-" Jim started.

"Yes you do!" Mike yelled, slamming his hand on the table. "You know damn well what I'm talking about. You ratted us out the night you guys saved Will! And now you're working with the lab! They _took_ Will and El and you're _working_ with them!" Mike yelled.

Jim started in shock for a moment.

"Hop.. what's he saying?" Joyce asked.

"The night we saved Will I made a deal with the lab. We get the things we need to save Will and they don't hurt any of these kids. in return I tell them were El was and continue to work for them. I did this to keep all of you safe." He explained.

"Well you dragged El under in the process! Also, the lab broke their deal. They beat us up so that they could kidnap Will and El. They even convinced my mom to get me a frickin _guard_ who by the way injects me with this crazy power chemical every _single_ night!" Mike yelled, fuming.

"What?" Joyce said loudly. "What do you mean power chemical?"

"It's an enhancing chemical the lab created to give someone powers. And they're using it on Mike. The guard is doing it but he says that it's a calming tonic so that Mike doesn't go after El, Who the guard only sees as subject Eleven." Scott explained.

Joyce and Hopper stared in shock.

"I'm sorry who are you?" Hopper asked.

"I'm Scott, I'm Mikes... friend and.." Scott quickly explained her relationship with El and the lab and what they're plan is.

Joyce fell back in her chair.

"They're turning him into a weapon? He's not a weapon he's a.. he's a kid!" Joyce stammered.

"We've been working on how to prevent it but Peters is a genius." Scott said.

Hopper slumped against the wall.

"I'm going to need to see what you're working on." He said.

"Why, so you can show it to the lab?" Mike asked angrily.

"No, so I can go into the lab and stop this." Hopper said.

"What.. no you're not the only one who's doing this. We all need to do this because the lab has clearly enhanced since 83." Mike said.

"Look, you're just a kid and I don't need another kid falling into the labs mess. _I'm_ going to do this. This is _my_ fight, not yours." Hop said.

Mike fumed, "Like hell it is! It became my fight the moment I found El in the woods! I'm in just as much as you- Hell more than you. They are turning my _best friend_ into a monster weapon. They are torturing my _girl friend_. And are turning me into another weapon that they can use in their stupid plan. So If anything, _you_ should stay down because this is literally a fight for our lives." Mike yelled at Hopper.

Jim stared in shock.

"But you're just a kid and we don't even know if the syrum has actually done anything-" Jim began.

"IT DOESNT MATTER THAT IM A KID! THIS IS STILL HAPPENING TO ME!" Mike screamed.

Hopper suddenly flew back into the wall. Mike flew back into the window above the sink. He crashed into the glass and hit the sink as he fell to the ground.

"No!" Scott yelled, running over to Mike. She kneeled beside him and turned him over on his back, resting he's head on her lap.

"Mike?" She asked softly.

His eyelids fluttered and Scott noticed a thin trail of blood under his nose and ears.

She looked over at Hopper. Joyce was helping him up. He left a hole in the wall but looked fine.

"Shit." Hopper muttered as he caught sight of Mike. He limped over and kneeled beside Scott. Joyce followed.

"Something's happening to him." Scott said, panic rising in her voice.

Joyce stared in shock, tears in her eyes.

Mikes eyes shot open as he gasped for air.

"Hey hey hey, it's okay. it's okay!" Scott said as she sat Mike up.

Mike looked around wildly, breathing heavily. He let out a grown as he held his head.

"Are you okay?" Joyce asked.

Mike was silent for a second.

"Mike?" Scott asked.

"Finally." Mikes mouth moved but the voice that came out wasn't his.

"Mike?" Jim asked.

"Oh I'm not Mike. This is Peters. You see that syrum was a bit more than just a power enhancer. Once his powers were activated, I would be able to control him, as I'm doing right now." Peters said through Mike. Mike stood up. He lifted his head and stared at Hopper.

"Our deals off." He said.

Hopper pulled Joyce and Scott behind him. They stepped against the wall.

"Whatever you're doing.. please stop. These kids have done nothing wrong. Just stop hurting them." Hopper pleaded.

"Oh but you see i can't do that. It's to much fun." Peters said, moving Mike around like a puppet.

"This kid sure does care a lot about his friends. And his friends need him. It would be a shame if something.. were to happen to him." Peters laughed.

"Don't! Stop Peters, please!" Scott yelled.

"Oh.. I'm not gonna kill him you silly girl. I need him. But I am giving him a taste of what it's going to feel like when he does become a weapon. You see," Peters said, making Mike tap his head. "Mikes in here right now. He can see and hear what I'm doing as of right now. But once the transformation is complete, which it almost is.. he won't be able to see or hear _anything._ " Peters said, making Mike spin.

"Please.. Stop. He doesn't deserve this. This kid has done nothing but help and care for his friends... his family. Just.. please stop." Joyce pleaded, stepping forward.

Peters made Mike frown. "Wow.. you really care for this kid... everyone seems to." He said.

"Peters.. if you have any humanity. Let him go. All of them. Before it gets out of control." Scott said, stepping towards Mike.

" _tusk tusk tusk._ Adeline.. darling. we both know that my humanity was destroyed decades ago. And the fact that you all care for this kid so much makes it more fun." Peters said.

Mikes eyes flashed. He fumbles forward and then backward.

"Oh and this kid is strong. Looks like he has something to fight for. Fun!" Peters said.

"You're a sick man." Jim muttered.

"Awe thank you! Anyway, better go. I've got plans!" Peters voice said.

Mikes eyes rolled back as he started shaking.

"Mike!" Scott yelled, running forward.

"Mike hey hey, its us!" She said frantically.

Mike stopped shaking as he fell to the floor.

"No!" Scott yelled as she caught him. She sat down with him in her arms.

"Oh my god." Joyce said, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Mike.." Hopper mumbled, looking defeated.

Mikes eyes shot open again. He took in a raspy breath and coughed up blood. His eyes darted around the room.

"Mike? Oh my god." Joyce said, holding his hand.

Mike took in shaky breaths as he calmed down.

"H- How are you?" Scott asked quietly, her arm still around his shoulders.

Mikes grip tightened on Joyce's Hand.

"I.. I don't know." Mike said, staring at the floor.

"Hey, kid. We're going to stop this." Hopper said.

Mike looked up at him. Hoppers eyes were filled with tears.

"We all are." Mike whispered.

 **Hehehe.. Ok all I have to say is the next few chapters are about to get intense..**


	24. Chapter 24

Hey guys! Ive been so excited to write these chapters so i hope you enjoy them :)

Scotts lab

Mike sat in a chair that was hooked up to a machine. He had two wires connected to his head. Scott was trying to figure out how the syrum worked. Hopper and Joyce were on the other side of Mike, silently looking around the room.

The clock read 12:45am.

"Okay.." Scott said, reading the monitors.

"Have you found something?" Joyce asked, holding Mikes hand.

"I think so. It seems that the syrum contains a chemical that messes with the brain. It works when hes using his powers. Theres a chance that everytime Mike uses his abilities Peters has easy access to his brain. I would have to test that but ive never seen this type of mind control before." Scott explained.

"So to _use_ him.. Peters would control him?" Joyce asked.

"Yes. But i think theres a way that Mike could block Peters from controlling him. Peters may be a genius but he still makes mistakes and the syrum does have a flaw. Now, you could see and hear everything that was happening right?" Scott asked Mike.

"Yea. It was like i was stuck in my own head. I tried to push him out and i think it worked for a second." Mike answered.

"Yes. It faultered and I think it has something to do with your connection with El." Scott said as she unhooked Mike from the machines.

"Connection?" Joyce asked.

"Mike and El share a bond through their mind. It allows them to contact eachother." Scott explained.

Joyce's eyes widened, "You can contact her? Can you try to right now?" She asked.

"Ive tried already. Shes the one who usually carries the bond and shes probably to weak right now." Mike answered.

"But your powers are activated now, do you think you could carry it?" Scott asked.

"Maybe.." Mike said.

Joyce squeezed his hand.

Mike closed his eyes. The room went silent.

 _come on come on come on_..

He opened his eyes. He was no longer in the lab anymore. He was in a black void. Mike looked down and saw that the floor was water.

"What the..?" He whispered.

"What is it?" Joyce's voice echoed through the void.

"Im... im in a void.." Mike answered.

"Do you see her?" Hopper asked.

Mike shook his head.

"El?" he called, walking around the void.

Nothing.

 _come on.._

"El are you here? its Mike." He called louder.

"Mike?" El's voice echoed through the void.

"El?! Yes its Mike, Im here!" He called, running around.

"Hold on.." She said softly.

"Whats happening?" Scotts voice echoed.

Mike felt a sharp pain in his head.

He yelled out and closed his eyes as Scotts voice faded away.

"Mike?" El yelped, her voice no longer far away.

Mike opened his eyes and saw that he was in a white tiled room.

Before he had time to process what just happened, El's arms were around him.

"El?!" Mike gasped.

He hugged her back.

"You found me." She whispered.

Mike nodded as he held her close.

El pulled back, "Are you okay? What did they do to you?" She asked, concern in her eyes.

"Im fine. What did they do to you?" He answered, looking her up and down.

"Not much. They just dose me a lot. But theyve hurt Will and I dont know what to do." El whimpered.

Mikes heart dropped. He looks behind El and saw someone lying on the bed.

"Will?" He asked, running over and kneeling beside the bed.

"He cant hear you, this is only in our heads." El said sadly.

Mike nodded and placed his hand on Will's shoulder. He stared at all the bruises and cuts.

"What did they do to him?" He asked, his voice low.

"Theyre forcing him to turn into a monster and... to kill people." El cried, her voice cracking.

"Theyre going to break him." She whispered, tears rolling down her face.

"Hey, i promis im going to get you guys out of here." Mike said, holding her hands.

El stared at him. "P- Peters said that they were turning you into a weapon too." She said softly.

Mike bit his lip, looking down at her hands in his.

He nodded slightly.

"They.. gave me.. they gave me powers." He said, looking at her.

El's eyes widened. "No.." She whispered, cupping his face with her hands.

"Im sorry.." She said, her voice cracking.

Mike shook his head, pulling her into a hug. "Its not your fault. We're going to use this against him." He said, staring at her.

"How?" She asked.

"He... wants to control me. He has already but i think i can fight it. Then i can use these.. abilities against him." Mike answered.

El stared at him in shock.

Mike flinched as he felt a sharp pain in his head.

"You have to go now. Youve stayed here to long." El said quickly.

"Im getting you out of here." Mike said. He kissed her. "I promise."

Then he faded back into the void.

"Mike?" Scotts voice echoed.

"Im coming back." He said, closing his eyes.

He felt Joyces hand around his again and quickly opened his eyes. The room spun.

"Whoa.." Mike muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Take it easy.. You just used your powers for an extensive amount of time." Scott said.

Mike opened his eyes slowly.

"What happened?" Joyce asked.

"I did it." Mike said.

He quickly explained what just happened.

"Oh my god.." Joyce whispered.

"We have to get them out of there, now." Hopper said.

"We need a plan, a team and Mike still cant block out Peters." Scott said.

"What team?" Hopper asked.

"Im allowed 10 agents. You have police officers and we can use whoever else knows about whats happened." Scott explained.

"But most of the people who know are just kids." Jim said angrily.

Scott fumed. "Jim when are you going to get this through your thick head. It _does not matter_ that they are kids. Theyre still apart of this because of what they know and what theyve experinced. Theyve all dealt with monsters and the lab. We need them." Scott said.

Hopper was quiet for a second.

"Shes right." Joyce said.

"What? Joyce come on you cant be considering this!" Jim said.

"I am Hop. All of these kids are apart of this. This isnt just _your_ fight, so stop acting like it is!" Joyce yelled.

Hopper stared at her.

"Its not up to you anyway Hop. Anyway, we need to focus on helping Mike block out Peters which means that we need to get rid of Sam." Scott said.

Mike nodded in agreement.

 **Wheelers**

"Where have you been? Do you have any idea how late it is, I was so-" Karen began as she opened the door. She stopped mid sentence as she saw Mike standing there with Scott, Joyce and Hopper behind him.

"We need to talk." Mike said.

Karen sat back in her chair, trying to process everything they just told her.

"So.. this entire time, they were hurting you?" She asked Mike.

He nodded.

"Oh Mike im so sorry." She cried, pulling him into a hug.

"Its not your fault mom.." Mike whispered.

"Okay, im going to get rid of Sam.." Karen said, going outside to where he was guarding.

Mike rested his head in his hands.

Nancy came down the stairs.

"Wha...?" She stuttered.

"Oh boy.." Mike muttered, getting ready to explain what was happening.

And so he did.

Karen came back to a shocked Nancy who was pacing.

"Did you tell her?" She asked, sitting next to Mike.

"Mhmm.." Mike mumbled, laying his throbbing head on the table.

"Are you alright, honey?" Karen asked, rubbing his back.

"My head hurts." He whispered, closing his eyes.

Scott looked up at him, "How bad?" She asked.

"Bad.." Mike muttered.

Scott tensed up. "Uh.. can everyone step away from him please.." She said, pulling Karen away from Mike.

"What, why?" Karen asked, concern flooding her face.

"Because if what i think is happening, we dont want to be near him." Scott said.

Mike suddenly jolted upward sending everyone flying back.

Nancy looked up at her brother as he grinned.

"Hello.." Peters said.

"Shit." Hopper muttered, standing up.

"You see you kinda put a bump in my plan to turn lil Mikey here into a superhuman weapon." Peters began.

"That was the idea." Joyce grunted, helping Nancy up.

"Well it just made everything worse for everyone." Peters said, making Mike hold out his closed fist.

A second later he opened it to reveal a syringe.

"How..?" Scott stuttered.

"Now I have to do something that I didnt really want to do because I could have put this to better use.. but it fixes my plan.." Peters said.

He held the syringe up to Karen but Mikes left arm pushed down his right.

"Wha- At?" Peters voice faultered.

"No." Mike said, taking the syringe out of his right hand.

"You idiot!" Peters yelled.

"Take it!" Mike yelled, holding the syringe out.

Scott rushed forward.

"No!" Peters yelled sending her flying back.

Mike screamed as Peters regained control.

"Enough of this!" Peters yelled, making Mike stick the syringe into Karens neck. She screamed as she collapsed.

"Mom!" Nancy yelled, running towards her mother.

"What did you do?!" She cried.

"This syrum will make her believe that Mike is dangerous and that Sam is here to contain it. She'll also think that im the _good_ guy. But if you try to convince her otherwise, it will leave her with serious brain damage." Peters explained.

"Now if you'll excuse me I have a little monster to deal with, toodaloo!" Peters laughed.

"No!!" Joyce yelled.

Mikes eyes rolled back as he fell to the ground.

Nancy stared in horror at her mom and brother laying in front of her. Joyce rushed towards her and pulled her into a hug.

Scott limped over to Mike and kneeled beside him.

"What are we going to do?" Hopper asked, kneeling next to Joyce, who had her arm around Nancy's shoulders.

Scott shook her head, "I dont know."

Mikes eyes shot open as he gasped for air.

He sat up quickly and looked around wildly.

"Hey.. hey its okay, its us." Scott said, holding his shoulders.

Mike held onto her arms, breathing heavily.

"I couldnt do it." His voice cracked.

"Do what?" Scott asked.

"I couldnt stop him... I tried, but he did something that trapped me.. and I.. I tried I-" Mike cried.

Joyce stared at him, concern flooding her face, "Its not your fault Mike." She said.

"But he's using me!! I cant stop him when he hurts people! Ive tried but-" His voice caught in his throat as he caught sight of his mother.

"Mike-" Scott began.

"Im sorry. I didnt.. Im sorry." He stuttered, backing up.

"Its not-" Scott said.

Mike shook his head, his hands shaking. He ran up the stairs to his room. He locked the door and leaned against. He felt like he was chocking. He fell to the floor, pulling his knees to his chest. His whole body shook. "Im sorry. im sorry." He cried.

 **lab**

El stared at the ceiling. Wills soft breathing relaxed her slightly. She was terrified to sleep, thinking that if she fell asleep, he would be gone when she woke up.

She jolted up. Sadness overwhelmed her.

 _Mike.._

He was upset. He blamed himself for something. He felt guilt.

El ran over to the door, slamming her fists against it.

"Stop it! Stop hurting him!" She screamed, falling against the door.

"Please.. not him." She cried.

 **...Sorry**

 **If this chapter was bad, I apologize. I finished it last night but then it all got deleted so I had to re-write it.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey guys! So the last chapters date was November 14th and this chapter has gone forward a month.**

 **Wheelers**

After Peters controlled him on the 14th, Mike had locked himself in his room. He had stopped going to visit Scott. He stopped talking to anyone and eventually he just shut himself off from everyone.

Mike was leaning against his door. He looked over at his calendar.

It was December 22.

His birthday... he was 15.

Mike looked back at the floor.

He pulled on the carpet, lost in his own mind. He kept replaying what happened that night and everything he couldve done.. but didnt.

A soft static sound pulled him out of his trance.

His supercom was across the room, broken. He had thrown it at the wall, leaving it crushed.

Mike bit his lip, looking up at the ceiling. He felt tears fall down his face.

 _Youre weak._ he thought.

 _You couldnt stop him... you just hurt people._

A soft knock on the door made Mike jump.

"Mike?" Dustin asked softly.

Mike started to smile but then rembered what could happen if he was around anyone.

"Mike.. we're here to talk to you." Lucas said.

Mike put his hand up against the door, now facing it on his knees.

"We're worried about you." Max said.

"You shouldnt be." Mike replied, his voice cracking.

"We cant help it.. youre our best friend and we need you." Lucas said.

Mike shook his head.

"Dont you know what I did?" He whispered.

"Yes. But it wasnt your fault. Whatever happens while hes controlling you.. we'll _never_ blame you for it. But we cant just sit here and watch you punish yourself because you _dont_ deserve it. Youre stronger than this, Mike... stronger than us and what you need right now is to know that we will _always_ have your back." Dustin said.

Mike stared at the handle. He reached up and opened it.

He looked down at his friends kneeling in the door frame.

Lucas immediately stood up and hugged him. Max and Dustin followed, sandwhiching him in a giant hug.

Mike sighed in relief.

"Thank you." he whispered.

"Hey... we have something for you." Lucas said as they pulled apart.

"What?" Mike asked.

"Its your birthday dude, its not like we forgot." Dustin said, pulling out a box.

Mike took it, staring at the blue wraping paper.

"Well.. open it." Max said, giving him a nudge.

Mike peeled off the paper and stared wide eyed at what he saw. It was him and all of his friends. They had just finished a DD game and were laughing. The picture was filled with joy. Mike smiled.

"Thanks, you guys.. this is awesome." He said, giving them a hug.

"We just thought you needed to be reminded of why you always kept fighting. And why you have to keep going." Lucas said.

"Ahem."

The group looked up.

Sam was leaning against the doorframe.

"I heard that youre talking again." He said, walking closer to Mike.

Mike tensed up.

Sam put his hands on Mikes shoulders. He smiled. A real smile. "I know that my job isnt in your best of interests but dont think what I do defines me." He said. "I have a family. And a son. I know that whatever is happening to you must be tough."

Mike stared at him, "Well you could help me." He said.

"How so?"

"Stop injecting me with that syrum." Mike said.

Sam nodded, "Stop trying to go after subject 011."

Mike clenched his teeth. "Shes _not_ a subject."

Sam frowned, "I dont know why youre so upset about the syrum, all it does is knock you out."

Mike scoffed, "Keep telling yourself that." He said as he left his room, followed by his friends.

He headed down the stairs for the first time in a month. He noticed christmas decorations covering the house.

"Mike!" Nancy exclaimed, running over and giving him a hug.

Mike hugged her back, realising how much he missed her.

"Nancy! Sam isnt in the room, you shouldnt be hugging him." Karen scolded, pulling her daughter away from her son.

"Mom, Mikes fine.. he wont hurt us." Nancy said.

Karen looked her son up and down. She slowly walked towards him.

"Are you dangerous?" Karen asked quietly.

"I dont want to be." Mike replied softly.

Karen nodded, realisation flashing in her eyes. She pulled him into a hug.

"I dont care if youre dangerous. Youre my son." She said.

Mike hugged her, relief flooding over him.

"Evening, ma'am." Sam said as he entered the room.

"Hello Sam. I think you should take the night off. Go be with youre family." Karen said.

"I cant Mrs. Wheeler." Sam said.

"Yes you can. I can take care of things, now go enjoy your holiday." Karen replied, handing him his coat.

"Thank you. Call me if you need anything." Sam said.

Karen nodded.

"Scuse' me." Sam said as he bumped into Scott on his way out of the door.

"I have some more things for M-" Scott began. She cut off as she saw Mike.

"Mike." She whispered, stepping forward and giving him a hug.

"Its good to see you again." She said.

Mike nodded, grinning.

"Oh, right I have this for you." Scott said, handing him a box.

Mike took it and opened it. Inside was a golden flower.

"Its an immortelle. Some people say that it represents the mind opening up to light, revealing somones true self. I know its not much but-" Scott explained.

"I love it." Mike said, "Thank you."

Scott smiled.

The night continued with pizza and cake, although there were often upsetting silences in the air. People were missing who had always been there and it was obvious.

"Thanks for doing all this you guys." Mike said to his friends later in the evening.

"We figured that we needed to do something to lighten things up. We need to get back that energy and determination if we're going to break out Will and El." Dustin said.

"I wanted to talk to you all about that." Hopper said, walking over to them.

"Cheif when did you-" Lucas stuttered.

"Just now.. and I brought our... _team_." Hop replied.

He stepped to the side to reveal Joyce, Jonathan, Nancy and Steve. Scott bounded down the stairs to the basement, holding a stack of papers.

"Excuse me.." She said as she squeezed past Jonathan and Nancy.

"We're really doing this?" Dustin asked, excitment bubbling up inside him.

Scott nodded. She spread out her paper. It was a map of tbe lab.

"Well we cant just walk in there without a plan. So we are all going to become... a rescue team." Scott explained.

"Im sorry, who are you?" Jonathan asked.

"Im Scott.. and I have a backstory that involves the lab.. and El." She quickly explained her past and what the lab ia currently doing.

The room was silent for a second. Jonathan stared in shock.

He whispered something to Nancy, a questioning look on his face. Nancy just shrugged.

"Ok.. not to sound mean.. but your story seems to fit in a little to perfectly." He said.

Scott frowned, "I know. But I hate the lab as much as the next and I would do anything to help you guys... Ive already done things that were... insane." She said.

Jonathan pursed his lips. He gave a slight nod.

"Look pretty boy, you dont have to believe my story. But please believe that I want to get those kids out of there and shut down the lab. I just want you to trust that I'll do whatever I can to help them- all of you." Scott said.

Mike looked back at Jonathan, "You can trust her." He said softly.

Jonathan nodded, "Okay.." He muttered.

Scott sighed, "Thank you.. Now we have a group of 10 and counting the guards im allowed, we'll have twenty. And keep in mind that these are highly trained, military agents." Scott began. "Along with that, we will all need to learn how to handle some type of gun. Adults will get more advanced guns while teens will get basic guns. Now, we cant let anyone know that we are doing this." She explained.

The group nodded along.

"Okay.. so the kids are most likely going to be in El's old room." Scott marked it on the map. "Guards will be positioned at every door, which makes about 37. Since the lab has had difficulties.. I bet that about half of those are not military. Now, once we take out the guards- we wont kill them- we get the kids. Then we take out Peters. But along with many complications.. theres still a big one." Scott said.

"What is it?" Joyce asked.

"Mike." Scott said.

Mike nodded, his face grim. He fidgeted in his seat.

"During all of this, Peters could take control of Mike and with his powers.. we wouldnt stand a chance. But we still need him because he can find El." Scott explained.

"Well what do we do then?" Nancy asked, holding onto her brothers shoulders.

"Mike needs to learn how to block out Peters." Scott said, her voice wavering.

Mike looked up at her, "But I've already tried to block him out. It doesnt work." He said.

"I know but maybe you were trying to block him out with the wrong intentions." Scott said.

Mike stared at her.

"You see.. the past two times you were most likely just trying to push him away for yourself. But you have to focus on what youre really fighting for. El, Your friends, your family. People that you care about. Focus on them and dont just push Peters out, block him. Destroy the power he has over you." Scott explained.

"But to attempt to block him out.. he'd have to actually be controlling me." Mike said.

"Then we have to do something that'll make him control you." Scott stated.

 **Morning**

The group decided to meet at an open field at 10am. Everyone was buzzing with energy and anticipation. They formed a large circle around Mike. Scott was giving him a pep talk.

"You can do this." She said. "We all believe in you. Youre strong and you _can do_ this, Mike."

Mike nodded, shaking his hands out, "Okay. Im ready." He said.

"Alright, now just what we practiced, youre going to lift those rocks over there and move them to the other side of the field." Scott explained.

She smiled at him as she headed to her spot.

Mike focused on the rocks.

 _Come on come on come on.._

He lifted one and moved it. Then another. And another. By the time he had moved half the rocks, his head started hurting. He bit his lip and kept focusing on moving the rocks, which kept getting bigger the more he moved on.

His head was throbbing, he stumbled back a bit. He tried focusing on the boulders. He was lifting one right as a sharp pain took over his head. He yelled out, dropping the rock.

"Look out!" Scott yelled, pushing Jonathan out of the way. A second later the boulder crashed where he was just standing.

Jonathan gasped, "Thanks." he sputtered.

"Mike!" Nancy yelled.

Scott quickly helped Jonathan up and looked over to where Mike was.

He was clutching his head, now on his knees. Her breath caught in her throat as he stood up, grinning.

"Well that was dumb." Peters laughed. "Whenver he uses his powers, it opens up a door for me to swoOp right in." Peters voice faultered.

"He's getting really annoying. The whole fighting back thinNnnGg. I thought that what happened laSssT time would make him stOoooOopp." Peters sounded like a broken machine.

Everyone stared, barely daring to breathe.

"Well I guess I just have to show him that Im in CharrgEee." Peters stuttered.

He made Mike lift a boulder. He looked over at Nancy and held her in place. He then pushed everyone back and positioned the boulder over he head.

Nancy gasped, her heart racing.

"Now.. Mike. This is what happens when you mess with _me_." Peters spat.

"Mike..." Nancy whispered, staring at her brother.

Peters dropped the rock.

"NO!" Mike screamed. He stopped the rock just as it touched Nancy's head. She fell to the ground.

"Go Away!!" Mike yelled. He threw the rock. Mikw clutched his head.

"What are YouuuU doing you IdiOoot?!" Peters yelled.

"Get OUT!!" Mike screamed.

Peters scream faded away as Mike fell back. Nancy sat up. Her head ached but as soon as she saw Mike she forgot about it.

"Mike!" She yelled running towards him. She skidded down on her knees.

Everyone else quickly followed.

Mike was laying on his back, staring at the sky. His nose and ears were bleeding and he had a cut on his lip. He was breathing heavily, his eyes darting back and forth.

"Mike?" Scott asked.

Mike stared at her. He gave a small smile. "I did it." He whispered, exauhsted.

"Yea.. you did." Scott smiled.

Mike closed his eyes, "That was tiring." He muttered.

"I bet it was." Nancy chuckled. "Lets get you home.

 **Lab**

El's eyes shot open. She jolted up, looking around. Will was gone.

"Will?!" She cried.

"He's not here anymore." Peters said. He was sitting in a chair, across from her.

"Where is he?" El croaked.

"He's in another room, where he will stay." Peters muttered.

"Why?" El whispered, tears sparking in her eyes.

" _Because_ I know that you some how gave your little _friend_ strength. He blocked me out and _you_ had something to do with it!" Peters spat.

El shook her head, "I didnt do anything. I couldnt have. Mike beat you. He's stronger than you and _you_ gave him that power. Not me." She explained, smiling a little.

Peters mouth formed a straight line.

He got up and stomped out of the room.

"I knew you could do it Mike." El whispered.

El hoped it would reach him. Past the lab. Across town. To him. And it did.

 **Whooo. It took me so long to write this and I honestly have no idea why.**

 **Anway, did you guys see the trailer?? It left me shook and confused af.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey guys! Im going to try to do at least 2 chapters before Monday because im going to be busy with band camp next week. Just a heads up so you know why I havent posted :)**

 **Lab**

El stared at the ceiling. Her eyes followed the cracks that ran through the cement. She didnt know what else to do. She was empty.

The door opened. She quickly sat up as Peters walked in with a small box.

"Hello Eleven." He said as he sat on the edge of her bed.

El frowned at him.

"Yeah, I didnt expect you to be happy to see me but I have something for you." He handed her the box.

"Why?" El asked.

"Its christmas my dear. And ive been working on _that_ for quite a while now and I thought today would be the perfect day to give it to you." Peters said.

El stared at the box, her hands shaking. She lifted the lid and pulled out a thin band.

"What is it?" She asked.

Peters grinned. He took it from her and placed it around her head. She flinched away as He connected a disk to it on either side.

"Its a band that blocks your powers." Peters explained.

El's heart sunk. She tried to rip it off but that resulted in the band shocking her. She screamed and clutched her head.

"Merry Christmas!" Peters laughed, leaving the room.

El's body shook as she held her head. Tears fell down her face.

"No..." She whispered.

 **Wheelers**

Mike jolted awake. He sat up and rubbed his head, his fingers tingling.

A single word echoed through his mind. _No._ He looked over at his clock. It read 4:57am.

He frowned. It was christmas.

He layed back in his bed, his hands twitching. He needed to contact El.

Mike closed his eyes.

He felt like he was falling. His eyes snapped open as he hit the hard, white floor.

"Ow.." He groaned.

"Mike!"

Mike got the air knocked out of him as El hugged him.

"El." Mike gasped.

"What are you doing here?" El asked, searching his face.

"I came to see you. I thought something happened-" Mike stopped as he noticed the thin band stretching around her head. Her forhead under the band was red and forming bruises.

"What is this?" He asked, reaching up and touching it.

El grabbed his hand, "It blocks my powers and when I try to take it off.. it shocks me." She explained.

"That son of a-" He began.

"Mike." El interupted. "They took Will." She whispered, her eyes watering.

Mikes eyes darted to the bed. His heart sunk when he didnt see his friend.

"No.." He whispered, his voice barely audible.

"I.. I cant find him." El cried, her voice cracking.

Mike pulled her into a hug, "I will." He said, closing his eyes.

He opened them and saw that El was still with him.

"What.." He stuttered.

"Its only in our heads." El reminded him.

Mike nodded, looking around the room they were in. Will was sitting in the corner, his knees pulled to his chest. He was pale, bloodied and bruised. The room was empty and freezing.

"Will.." Mike gasped, running towards his friend and falling to his knees next to him. El followed.

"Will?" Mike asked, reaching out to him.

Will turned and looked at Mike, his eyes brightning.

"Mike?" He gasped, hugging him.

Mike laughed in relief, hugging him back.

Will pulled back, "Wait, how are you here?" He asked, concern flooding his eyes.

"Its a long story.." Mike explained what Peters did to him and how he's contacting him.

Will sat in shock, holding El's hand.

"How could they..?" He whispered.

Mikes head spiked with pain. He rubbed his temple.

"Mike?" El asked.

"Im fi-" Mike stuttered. The growing pain caused him to yell out.

"Oh my god, I didnt realise how long you've been here." El gasped, "You have to go." She said.

Mike shook his head.

"Mike." Will said, holding onto Mikes shoulder. "Its okay... tell everyone that we're okay.. You need to go." He said.

Tears fell down Mike's face. He hugged Will.

"I'll come back. I promise." he said.

He quickly took El back to her room.

He hugged her and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm coming back for you." He said, his head throbbing.

El smiled, "Be careful."

Mike closed his eyes.

Cold air surrounded him as he opened his eyes. He was in the void. The pain in his head blurred his vision.

He closed his eyes and focused on home but when he opened them again he was still in the void.

His heart skipped a beat.

He screamed as the pain in his head kept growing.

"LET ME OUT!" He cried, clutching his head and falling to his knees.

His head felt like it was going to explode. He felt blood gush out of his ears and nose. Tears mixed with the blood.

"STOP!!" He screamed.

"Mike?!" Nancy's voice echoed through the void.

Mike struggled to look up.

"IM HERE! IM STUCK!" He screamed, his voice shaking.

"Mike, wake up!" Nancy yelled.

"I cant, Nancy it hurts!! It hurts so bad and I cant get out!" Mike cried.

"Try Mike, please. You can do this, just _wake up._ Come home." Nancy pleaded.

Mike closed his eyes, his body shaking.

 _Go home please._

His eyes shot open. He caught sight of Nancy as he screamed.

"Mike!" Nancy yelled, shaking him.

Pain englufed him. He heard Nancy scream and then something hit the wall. He passed out.

Mikes eyes fluttered open. He gasped as the pain in his head returned. He sat up slowly, rubbing his temple. He looked over at where he last saw Nancy. His heart sunk.

Nancy was laying unconcious across the room. The wall had a hole in it that had sent debre everywhere.

"No." Mike whispered, running over to Nancy.

"Nancy?" He asked, shaking her shoudler.

She groaned as she opened her eyes.

"Nancy, what happened?" He asked, helping her sit up.

"You.. you were screaming and I came in here to see what was.. happening.. You said you were stuck? Um.. then you screamed and I flew into.. the wall." She answered, rubbing her head.

Mike stared in shock at the hole in the wall. His mind was racing.

"Im sorry.." He whispered, staring at the forming bruise on her head.

Nancy pulled him into a hug, "Its okay Mike. This isn't your fault. It was an accident." She said.

"Are you okay?" Mike asked.

Nancy chuckled, "Im fine.. Plus I've had worse."

Mike helped her stand up.

Her hand went to her hip, "Thats gonna leave a mark." She said, massaging it.

"Now.. lets cover up this hole." She said. Nancy moved his xmen poster over to cover the hole.

"What are we gonna say to mom?" Mike asked.

"I'll say I fell down the stairs." She responded.

"Thanks." Mike said.

Nancy smiled, "Just looking out for you."

Mike frowned, "But what if I do something like this again?" He asked.

"Then I'll help you through it again." Nancy responded.

"But what if-" Mike began.

"Mike. Its christmas. You deserve a break, so lets go downstairs and enjoy our holiday." Nancy said.

Mike nodded, although throughout the day he was more quiet and often lost in thought. You could say it was the worst christmas he'd ever had.

 **Lab**

El paced around the room. Since her powers were blocked, she couldnt reach out to Mike or know when something was wrong.

El's hand went automatically to her locket. A habit she made when she was put back in the lab. She twirled it in her fingers. El looked down and opened it. She stared at the picture, tears welling in her eyes.

"Take me back to here.." She whispered.

 **Wheelers, December 30th.**

The group was back at the field. Everyone was in light winter gear, knowing that they would be training. They started on the 23rd and had been coming here every day ever since.

The kids had already learned how to handle and reload there guns. The adults had been able to have their choice of weapon. Everyone felt like they could take on the world.

"Okay." Scott said, placing down the last of the crates from her truck. "Now, if we are going to do this, we're going to need protection." She said as she pulled out bullet broof vests, gloves, helmets, backpacks and first aid kits.

"Everyone is going to get a backpack with a first aid kit, extra amo and water inside. And Dustin I also put some snacks in yours." Scott said.

Dustin pumped his fist in the air.

"Everyone is also getting a vest, gloves and a helmet.. which we are trying on today." Scott explained, handing out the gear.

Everyone put it on.

"Wow... we look.. not as cool as I thought." Dustin said.

Lucas slapped his arm, "Dude." He said.

"What? I look like a fat middle aged man whose scared of falling!" Dustin responded, flapping his arms.

"Actually you look like a bloated bird." Max said.

Dustin stared wide eyed at her, his mouth gaping.

"Alright.. kids take this seriously." Hopper said.

Dustin mimicked Hopper.

"Anyway, time for target practice." Scott said.

Max clapped her hands, pulling her gun out of her belt.

"Be careful!!" Joyce said.

"Alright.. I guess Max is up first." Scott said, giving Max amo.

She smiled. Max aimed at one of the cans. She shot at it and hit it. Then another and another. She hit all of them and extremely fast too, which left everyone shocked.

"How the hell did you do that??" Dustin asked.

Max shrugged, "My brother taught me." She said.

"Well, thats going to come in handy." Scott said.

"Dustin youre next." Scott said.

Dustin shot 2 of the 10 cans.

"Not bad for your first try." Scott said.

Max laughed and pushed his hat down, making Dustins face go read.

Lucas went next and hit 3 of the cans.

Nancy hit 7.

Hopper hit 9.

Joyce and jonathan hit 4.

Steve hit 5.

Scott hit all of them.

"Good job guys!" Scott cheered.

"Okay.. Show us what you got Mike." Max said.

Mike walked over to the rocks. He quickly lifted all of them and hurled them across the field, reducing them to pebbles. He then made every can, including the shot ones explode. He pushed some trees deep into the ground. And then, he made himself levitate.

He returned to the ground, wiping the blood from his face.

"Whoah.." Lucas muttered.

"That was AWESOME!" Dustin yelled, high fiving Mike.

"That was impressive!" Scott exclaimed.

"How do you feel?" Joyce asked.

"I feel... buzzy.." Mike answered.

"Haha buzzy." Dustin chuckled.

"We are certainly a team worth fighting." Hop said.

"Oh.. I forgot to tell you guys something." Mike said.

Nancy gave him a look that read, _You sure?_

Mike nodded, "On Christmas I reached out to El. Her and Will are now seperated so I found him too. He's okay. He's hurt but he's making it and wants everyone to know that theyre both okay." Mike said.

Joyce covered her mouth with her hand. Jonathan hugged her.

"Did anything happen when you reached out to him? I didn't even know you could reach out to anyone besides El." Scott said.

"Well.. I got stuck in the void.. and it hurt _a lot._ Nancy helped me out but when I came back.. I lost control and.. sent her flying into a wall." Mike explained, looking at his feet.

"Oh my god.. Are you two okay?" Joyce asked.

Nancy nodded.

"Well.. maybe you shouldn't contact Will. That obviously put a lot of stress on your mind which caused the reaction you had." Scott said.

"What? But what if something happens to him?" Mike objected.

"We can't risk it. We don't know what its doing to you." Scott said. She put her hands on his shoulders.

"We are _going_ to get them out of there.. I promise." She whispered to him.

Mike nodded.

They continued their training. Working harder than ever.

 **Sorry if the ending was crappy, I didn't really knkw what else to put. But I hope you enjoyed anway :)**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hey guys! I won't have another chapter after this one until maybe Friday or Saturday, sorry :(**

 **January 2** 1986

It was her birthday. Mike needed to see her and make sure that she was okay. He has prepared a small gift for her and wished he could give it to her under better circumstances. He clutched the box as he closed his eyes.

He hit the hard floor with a smack. He opened his eyes and looked around the room. El was asleep on her bed, fidgeting slightly. He didn't want to wake her, figuring that she didn't sleep much.

El stirred and then jolted awake with a gasp. She placed her hand over her chest and breathed deeply.

"El?" Mike asked, walking over to her.

Her eyes brightened, "Mike." She sighed, giving him a hug.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"It's your birthday.. and I wanted to give you this." He said, handing her the box.

"It's... my birthday.." She repeated sadly.

"Hey," Mike said, holding her hand, "I'm going to get You out of here okay?" He assured her.

El nodded and gave a small smile. She lifted the lid off the box and gasped. She pulled out a small stuffed animal. It was a bear that had a pink ribbon tied around its neck. The ribbon had a tag on it that said: Happy Birthday El.

The bear fit perfectly in the palm of her hand.

"Thank you." She said.

"I wish I could've done more but I didn't think you could really hide anything big or-" Mike stuttered.

"I love it." El interrupted.

Mike smiled. His smile faded as he noticed the dark bags under her eyes and the bruises running across her forehead.

El shivered and stifled a yawn.

"El?" Mike asked as she lay back down.

"Mm?" She responded.

"Just.. hold on a little longer, okay? It'll be over soon and.. and then you can come home." As mike said those words it brought back memories from the night she disappeared. He said that to her.

"I will this time." El whispered, closing her eyes.

Mike kissed the top of her head, "You always have."

He closed his eyes and went home.

January 10

The team had been working their butts off training to take down the lab. They were almost ready and everyone was buzzing with anticipation.

"I think we're ready." Scott said, looking over their team.

"Lets go get our friends." Dustin said, pumping his fist.

"Alright, here's the plan." Scott said.

"We stay together at first so we can knock out the guards. Then we have Mike locate El and Will. It might be harder to locate Will since we have no idea where he is in the facility. After we get the kids, we go after Peters. While a group is going towards him, another will be collecting files on all the illegal things the lab has done. No one has to die... understood?" Scott stated.

"We're not killing him?" Hop asked, "That son of a bitch deserves to die."

"No Hop. Death would be the easy way out. He deserves a lifetime of punishment. He deserves to know that he failed and that he has to pay the price for it. He needs to suffer." Scott shot back.

"Fine." Hop said.

"Don't worry, you can still give him shit." Scott said.

Hop laughed, "My pleasure."

"Now, here are the groups. Hop, Jonathan, Lucas, Mike, and I will go after Peters. Joyce and Dustin will get El and Will out of the lab after we find them. Steve, Nancy and Max will go find the files. Now before all of this we are going to stay together until we find El and Will; then we get into our groups, understand?" Scott explained.

Everyone nodded.

"Okay, let's do this." Mike said.

Lab

Everyone was silent and full of energy as they approached the back of the lab. Mike snuck around behind Scott and Jonathan who were quietly whispering to each other. Mike noticed- even in the dim light- how they both were slightly blushing. He grinned to himself, rolling his eyes a little.

"Okay, hedge clippers please." Scott said. Hop handed them to her. She cut a hole out of the fence. They all proceeded through.

The agents fanned out and knocked out the guards that were outside.

"Scott." One of them said as he returned.

"What is it, Timothy?" She asked.

He handed her a key card, "found this."

"Perfect, now-" She leaned in and whispered something to him.

He nodded, "You sure you want to do that?" He asked quietly.

Scott nodded.

Mike glanced at her.

She motioned for everyone to follow, as she headed towards the door.

"Be on guard." She said.

Everyone tensed up.

As soon as they entered the facility the guards opened fire.

"Get down!" Scott yelled.

Everyone ducked behind turned over tables or into doorways. Hop peered over the side of the table and shot back. The agents ran forward, firing and screaming.

Mike stepped out and sent all the guards flying into the ceiling, he then crashed them into the floor.

The room went silent, everyone breathing heavily.

Mike wiped the blood off his face.

"You okay?" Nancy asked.

He nodded.

"Okay, lets go." Scott whispered.

They slowly headed down one of the hallways.

Mike was in the lead, next to Scott.

"Did you find her?" She asked.

Mike nodded, a slight pain in his head.

"This way." He said, pointing down the left hallway.

Guards lined the doors. Mike peered around the corner.

"Guards... everywhere." He said.

"Okay, don't use your powers, you need them to find El." Scott said.

Mike pulled out his gun.

The group quickly rounded the corner and opened fire. The guards were taken by surprise but immediately fired back.

A scream rattled the air.

Mike turned around to see what seemed to be Max falling in slow motion. His heart skipped a beat and his ears rung.

"No!" Lucas yelled.

Mike turned back to the guards. Two agents lay at his feet, dead. He fumed as he snapped the guards necks.

"Mike!" Scott gasped.

Mike just glared at her.

"Guys!" Lucas yelled.

Mike skidded over next to max. The bullet looked like it pierced her chest.

She gasped for air, "The.. the vest caught it." She stuttered.

Hop bent down and pulled out the bullet. He sighed in relief.

"Someone needs to stay with her." He said.

"What? No I'm- I'm fi- ahh!" Max yelled out as she tried to sit up.

"No.. that probably broke some ribs, you need to stay down." Hopper demanded.

"I'll stay with her." Nancy said.

Hopper nodded.

He carried Max into a room.

"Stay here and lock the door." He demanded, giving Max pain killers.

Nancy nodded.

"Be careful." She said.

Mike nodded, leaving with the rest of the group.

They were down 4.

Mike found El again and started leading the group to her.

"She's close." He whispered.

He noticed Scott's hands twitching.

Jonathan brushed his hand against hers and gave her a reassuring look. She nodded in return.

"She should be-" Mike said as they rounded the corner. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw all the guards. Peters was standing in front of all of them.

"Hello." He said.

Everyone held up their guns.

"Drop your weapons!" A guard shouted from behind the group.

They were surrounded.

"How...?" Mike whispered, his heart racing.

Peters grinned, "You see... this wasn't my original plan, but I had some help and it seemed to actually be more fun this way." He said.

"What do you mean?" Jonathan asked.

"Well, I wanted to use little Michael here but.. that failed, sadly. So I turned to plan B. One that I had had for many years. It was actually right in front of you the whole time." Peters laughed.

"What?" Mike asked, his mind racing.

Peters opened his arms, "My daughter." He said.

Mike glared at him. He saw movement in the corner of his eye and turned over to Scott. She was grinning... the same grin as Peters. She let go of Jonathans hand and walked forward and stood beside him. She gave a little bow.

"You...?" Mike stuttered, hatred boiling up inside of him. "You were working with him?!" He yelled, hot tears sparking in his eyes.

"I told you my dad worked with the lab. Now you've had the pleasure to meet him- who he really is, to be exact. Honestly, this entire time.. you all are so gullible. This whole time I've been leading every single one of you into a trap." She said.

Suddenly all the agents turned their guns on the group.

Jonathan stared wide eyed at her, "How could you? We... I trusted you!" He yelled, hurt shining in his eyes.

Something flashed across Scott's eyes. Then she smiled, "Jonathan.. I'm part of the lab. I'm your enemy." She said.

Jonathan stumbled back.

Mike stared in shock. He felt a sharp pain on the back of his head as screams echoed through the air, then everything went black.

 **Sorry about leaving it on a cliffhanger for a while but I WILL be back as soon as I can!!**


	28. chapter 28

**Hey guys! Woohoo, im back :D Ive been wanting to write so badly but band camp was soooo long!**

Lab

Mike stirred as he heard muffled voices. He became aware of the throbbing pain near the left part of his forhead. He reached up and slightly touched it with his hand, feeling a warm bump.

"Mike?" Lucas asked quietly.

Mike groaned and opened his eyes. He peered at Lucad and noticed that his cheek was swollen.

"Lucas? Wha.. what happened?" Mike asked groggily.

"Well... We all got knocked out. We also got seperated, which is _great_." Lucas responded, staring at his hands.

Mike looked around the small room. He saw Jonathan and Hopper talking quietly to eachother in the corner of the room. Jonathan glanced at him and walked over when he realized Mike was awake.

"Hey.. how are you doing?" Jonathan asked, kneeling in front of him.

"Im... shocked. How about you?" Mike answered.

Jonathan bit his lip and Mike noticed the cut under his eye.

"Im blank." Jonathan said finally.

Mike understood, "Im sorry." He said, guilt building up inside him.

Jonathan stared at him, "For what?"

"I brought Scott into our group and I convinced everyone to trust her. She just seemed so... I thought she was on our side." Mike muttered.

"Yeah.. She was great.. but its not your fault." Jonathan said.

Mike shrugged.

"Hey kid." Hop said, walking over. "Does anyone else find it weird that we all were put into the same room? I mean we were supposed to be the group to go after Peters." He said.

"I bet she did this on purpose. To make us feel worse.. shes just like her dad." Lucas muttered.

Jonathan scoffed, "Shes unbelievable."

Mike layed his head against the wall. He reached up to push his hair out of his eyes when he felt something around his forhead. He traced his fingers over the wire that was wrapped around his head.

"Youve got to be kidding me!" He yelled, a mixture of anger and annoyance boiling up inside him.

"What?" Jonathan asked.

Mike pushed his hair away from his forehead to reveal the wire. Jonathans eyes widened.

"Whats that?" Lucas asked.

"It blocks my powers." Mike said.

Hopper threw his hands up in the air, "Great! This is all just _perfect!_ " He yelled.

"But we cant give up yet.. we cant loose." Lucas mumbled, leaning against the wall.

Mike fumbled with his jacket zipper. Their vests and weapons were gone. His powers were blocked.. and they were locked up in a cell with a security camera.

From their standpoint... their situation was hopeless.

Mike stood up, "There has to be something we can do." He said.

Jonathan shook his head, "Like what? We've been betrayed, beaten and locked up. I dont think theres much we _can_ do." He said.

Mike shook his head. He wouldn't believe that they were going to loose. He closed his eyes and tried to remember what happened before he was knocked out. Scotts grin flashed across his mind. He dug his fingernails into his palms.

He then remembered how Scott had looked when Jonathan yelled at her. Even if it was for nearly a second, something had flashed across her face. Something like... guilt, or sadness.

Mike opened his eyes, hope rising in his chest, "What if we arnt hopeless?" He asked.

"Kid, have you looked at the situation?" Hop asked.

Mike nodded, "Yeah.. but what if Scott didnt betray us." He suggested.

Jonathan laughed dully, "Thats a nice thought, but its pretty clear that she _did_. I mean Peters is her _dad._ "

"Yeah but that doesnt mean she has to be on his side. Maybe we arnt the ones she betrayed. What if she betrayed _him_?" Mike said.

Lucas stood up, "What makes you think that?" He asked.

"Well.. when Jonathan yelled at her about how he trusted her.. I saw something change in her face. It looked like she was guilty or sad for a second. Also before we went into the lab, she said something to one of the agents and he asked if she was _sure_ that she wanted to do that. _I_ think she was going over how she was going to _act_ like she betrayed us. And on top of all that, people who work at the lab.. who have kids, are not usually the best parents." Mike explained.

Everyone stared at him in shock.

"That.. makes some sense." Hop said.

"It makes more than some sense. Mike.. you are lucky that you're such a nerd." Lucas said, patting Mike on the back.

Mike looked at Jonathan, who had a confused look on his face.

"Jonathan?" Mike asked.

"Why the hell is this all fitting in so perfectly?? Her back story, youre explanation.. the fact that all of us are most likely in our seperate groups right now? This just seems to good to be true. What if this is all part of her plan. What if she never even knew El. What if she was reminding the agent how she was going to betray us? The truth is.. is that we don't know if shes on our side or not." Jonathan blurted out, his face red.

Mike bit his lip, "You're right.. we dont know if Scott is on our side. This is all just a huge mess. But I _really_ wish that you didnt just _accept_ the worst so easily. You're not fighting this alone. Everyone is here to help eachother and even if the situation seems as hopeless as right now.. you have to have some faith. _Some_ hope. I realized that when Will went missing. And im willing to believe that we are going to get through this.. together." Mike said.

Jonathan stared blankly at him. He then gave a slight nod as he retreated to the back corner of the room. Mike sighed as he leaned against the wall.

 **3:27am**

Mike jolted awake as screams rattled the air. He immediately tried to contact El but the band shocked him. He yelled out, clutching his head.

"Mike?" Lucas asked, concern flooding his face.

Mike waved it off. He stood up as the screams and crashes grew louder.

"Whats happening?" Mike yelled over the noise.

"No idea, something bad." Jonathan answered, covering his ears.

Suddenly the door burst open and Scott ran in, closing the door behind her. Mike noticed a large gash running down the side of her face.

Scott's eyes grew wide as she realized what room she was in.

"I guess im doing this _now._ " She said as she walked across the room and slammed her gun down on the secruity camera.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" Jonathan yelled.

"And whats happening out there?" Hop asked, glaring at her.

Scott was quiet for a second, her eyes wandering over all their faces.

"Look, I _know_ that youre mad. I figured that you would be when I came up with this plan." She started, her hands shaking slightly.

"I.. I didnt betray you and neither did the agents. It was part of my plan to get as close as I could to the rest of the guards.. and my dad. We got rid of the guards that were watching the security cameras and the ones by the file room. I couldn't risk getting anyone else hurt." She explained.

Everyone was silent.

"So... are you on our side?" Mike asked quietly.

Scott nodded.

"But why are you going after your dad?" Lucas asked.

Scotts eyes glimmered with tears, "Because.. hes just like Brenner. He adored him. So much that he did everything he could to contribute to his experiments. Specifically the ones on children with... abilities. Thats where Peters actually developed the syrum that gave Mike powers." Scott explained.

"So... what did he do that made you hate him?" Hop asked.

"He.. brought me to the lab everyday. I was just 5 when he actually started using me. You see... um.." her voice broke. She just shook her head and pulled up her sleve. She rubbed her hand over her wrist, removing the makeup. Her hand shook as she revealed the tattoo on her wrist. It read 001.

Mike gasped, "You were the first...?" He asked, his voice shaking.

Scott nodded, "My dad was so in love with Brenners work that he vowed to do anything to be apart of it. So when he and Brenner found a way to give people powers, my dad offered me up like an object. He ruined my childhood, killed my mother and turned me into something that ive been trying to destroy for as long as I can remember." She said, her voice wavering.

The room was silent. The screams echoed through the quiet room, making everyone shake.

Jonathan reacted first. He quietly walked over and gave Scott a hug. Relief overtook her as she held on to him.

"Im sorry." He whispered.

Another blood curdling scream broke through the room.

"Whats.. happening?" Lucas asked quietly.

Scott wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "Will." She answered.

Jonathan went frigid.

"He turned and broke out of his room. Now he's attacking the facility." She said.

"We have to go!" Jonathan yelled.

"Follow me." Scott said. She opened the door and sprinted down one of the hallways. Blood and bodies covered the floor. She ran into a room and slammed the door once everyone was in.

"Here." She said, opening a crate and handing them guns.

"We're not going to shoot him are we?!" Jonathan sputtered.

"Of course not. These are for the guards. I.. I figured out a way to turn Will back temporarily." Scott answered.

"How?" Jonathan asked.

"Like this." She said. Scott stepped towards Jonathan and pressed her fingers against his temple. He gasped as his eyes rolled back. Scott removed her hand as Jonathan opened his eyes.

"Okay, what just happened?" Lucas asked.

"I gathered up his most valuable memories and showed them to him. The way to turn Will back is to remind him who he really is." Scott explained.

"So... how did you do that?" Hop asked.

"My power goes with the mind, as most usually do. I can read minds and show them the good side of that person, basically. But only if im touching their temple." Scott explained, "Oh and I can do this-" The palm of her hand started glowing as she aimed it at the empty crate. She then shot out a beam of light that made the box explode.

Mike stared wideyed at it, "That... that was cool." He said.

Scott shrugged, "Lets go, get the others- and be on guard." She lead them out of the room and into the now silent hallway.

They took many turns through the white hallways, until they found a door labled room 147.

"Theyre in here." Scott said as she unlocked the door.

Once the door opened they were bombarded with questions.

Scott just pushed her way through the group, pressing her fingers againts their temples as she passed. She then shot at the security camera and turned to face the group.

"Everyone good?" She asked.

They nodded, staring in shock.

"You have powers??" Dustin exclaimed.

"I thought you wouldve realised that by the fact that I just explained everything to you by tapping your head." Scott said, smiling at him.

"Now we have to go find El." She said, leleading them out of the room. She took off the band that was wrapped around Mikes head.

"Find her." She said.

Mike nodded. He pointed down a hallway, "This way." He then lead the group to her.

After what seemed like hours they finally came to the end of a hallway. A large white door labeled 011 stood before them.

"El." Mike whispered.

Scott unlocked the door and Mike ran through. He found El curled up in the corner, her hands over her ears. Mike breathed out in relief. She was here. The real her.

"El?" Mike asked, kneeling next to her.

El immediately looked up, tears shining in her eyes. She stared in shock at him for a moment before throwing her arms around him.

"Mike." She whispered, holding on to him as tightly as she could. "Youre here. Actually here?" She asked.

Mike nodded, "We all are." He motined towards everyone standing in the doorway. Joyce quickly pushed herself towards the front and ran over to El.

"Mom!" El exclaimed, hugging Joyce.

"Oh my sweet girl. Youre okay." Joyce cried.

An inhumane scream rattled the air.

"Will." El whispered.

"We have to go." Scott said, her eyes lingering on El.

El stared back at her, feeling like she knew her from somewhere.

"Okay El; Joyce and Dustin are going to get you out of here." Mike said.

El stared at him, "Im not leaving you." She objected.

Mike smiled, "I'll be fine. You have to get out of here. We're going to get Will back and then we can _all_ go home, okay?" Mike said.

"Promise?" El asked quietly.

"Promise." Mike said, giving her one last hug.

Dustin, Joyce and El quickly retreated towards the nearest exit that Scott pointed out.

"Once you get out, run!" Scott called after them.

She turned back to the rest of them.

"Okay those three are getting away, Nancy and Max are hiding... hopefully. Now Steve and Lucas can go get the files while Hop, Mike, Jonathan and I look for Will. Once you guys get the files, get the hell out of here." Scott said.

Steve and Lucas nodded, heading off to the file room.

"Okay, lets go get Will." Mike said, reaching out to him.

"He's.. heading towards the gate." Mike said, looking wide eyed at Scott.

"We have to go." She said.

The group sprinted down the maze of hallways, the screams growing louder as they ran closer. The lights started flickering and then all at once they shut off, leaving them in pitch blackness.

"Shit." Jonathan muttered.

Scott held up her hand and produced a soft yellow glow around the room.

Everyone held their breath as she scanned the hallway.

She screamed as the light fell upon Will. He was kneeling over a body, tearing it apart.

Scotts light flickered.

Will looked up, causing the lights to turn on. They started flickering slowly.

"Will?" Scott asked.

The monster growled and swiped its long, twisted arm at her. It sent her flying into the corner of the hallway.

"No!" Jonathan screamed. He ran over to her, staring in horror at the deep gash across her chest. She was unconscious but barely breathing. He ripped off his jacket and tied it around the gash.

"Get her out of here!" Hop screamed as he jumped out of the way of Wills thrashing arm.

Jonathan picked up Scott and sprinted into the darkness.

"Mike, can you do something?" Hop yelled.

Mike reached out to Will, "Will, listen to me! I know youre in there and that you dont want to hurt anyone." Mike yelled, tears filling his eyes.

Mike saw a glimmer of Will in the monsters eyes. It stared at Mike, blood dripping from its teeth. Its black eyes darted over to Hopper. It shrieked as it noticed his gun. The monster lunged forward and through Hopper into the dark hallway.

"No!" Mike screamed.

The monster turned to him.

"Will.." Mike cried, his voice shaking, "Will please. Its me.. Its Mike. Please Will, you have to fight this.. I _know_ you can, please." Tears rolled down Mikes face, mixing with the blood.

The monster stared at him, sadness in its eyes. It whimpered, backing away.

"Will?" Mike asked, stepping towards him.

Mike saw Wills eyes instead of the monsters. Hope flickered inside him.

"Come on.. you can do it, Will.. come back." Mike cried, stepping closer until he was only a foot away.

The monster shrunk, covering its head. Mike watched as it slowly changed back into Will.

"Get down!" Mike turned as he saw a guard pointing its gun at Will.

"No!" Mike screamed as he watched the guard fire the gun in slow motion. Mike snapped the guards neck.

"Mike.." Will whispered.

Mike turned to will, who was leaning against the wall, clutching his stomach. Mike noticed the blood covering his hands; his heart dropped.

"No!" Mike cried as he rushed forward and caught Will as he fell. He layed his friend in his lap, holding on to Wills hand.

"Will.." Mike whispered, tears falling down his face.

Will was deathly pale, his eyes glazed. Cuts and bruises covered his face and arms. Tears painted his face.

Will gave a small smile, "You came." he whispered, pain flooding his face.

Mikes body shook, "Of course I did... Youre going to go home.. okay? Just.. just hold on." Mike cried, fumbling with his jacket. He pressed the cloth onto the wound, crying harder as it soaked through in seconds.

"Mike..." Will whispered.

Mike stared at his friend.

"Im... im not gonna make it.." Will cried.

Mike shook his head, "Dont say that, we're going to get out of here I just-" Mike stuttered, choking on his tears.

"Mike.." Will stopped him. He gripped Mikes hand, "Thank you... for coming back. It means the world.. t- to me.." Will stuttered, his eyes rolling back.

Mikes heart dropped, "No no no no.. no Will come on! Come on Will!!" Mike cried, holding on to his friend. He sobbed into Wills chest, rocking back and forth, "Will!! No.." He cried.

Mike pressed his hand against the wound, barely breathing, "Come on.." He whispered, tears falling down his face. He felt something in his hand and pulled it away from Will. He opened it and saw the bullet. Mike pushed away the bloodied cloth and held his hand over the gash.

"Come on come on come on..." He cried, his hand shaking. He stared wide-eyed as a soft glow emitted from his hand. Mikes head throbbed as he healed Will.

Will gasped for air as Mike fell agasint the wall, relief and pain flooding over him. The world faded to black.

 **4:28am**

Mike opened his eyes and shivered. He realized he was outside. He quickly stood up but stumbled as the pain rushed back to him.

"Michael." Peters voice echoed through the freezing air.

Mike turned around and stopped dead as what he saw unfolded before him.

Peters was holding a gun to El's head, who was kneeling in front of him. Will lay unconscious next to her. Mikes heart dropped as he saw everyone else held at gunpoint by guards. They formed a circle around him.

"How..?" Mike stuttered, looking over everyone.

"You see.. Im not dumb, _Michael_. I knew your little plan because I had a little chip implanted in my daughter." Peters said, motioning to Scott who was on the ground next to him, barely awake.

Mike glared at Peters.

"Once I found out she betrayed me, I activated the chip, and found out what you all were doing. I also found everyone you came with and I _will_ slowly kill them unless you do something for _me._ " Peters spat, glaring at Mike.

Mike stared at El. She shook her head, tears painting her face.

Mike clenched his fists.

"What do you want?" He asked, glaring at Peters.

Peters smiled, "I want you to let me in. Let me continue my plan with you and everyone you care about will be unharmed." Peters said.

Mikes mouth went dry.

"No!" El screamed, struggling against her handcuffs.

Peters loaded the gun, "Make your decision quickly... or shes the first to die." He said, pressing the gun against El's temple.

"No!" Mike screamed, he threw back all the gaurds. He aimed his hand at Peters, ready to kill him.

"Stop this!" Peters yelled, yanking El up to her feet.

"Make. A. Choice!" He snapped.

Mike stared at El. She mouthed no over and over.

"Mike." She whispered.

"None of them will ever get hurt?" Mike asked, tears pricking his eyes.

Peters smiled, "They will all be safe and unbothered." He answered.

"Okay." Mike said.

"No!!" El cried, falling to the ground.

Peters walked over to him, placing the wire around his head, "Just.. let me say goodbye?" Mike asked.

Peters rolled his eyes, "10 seconds." he said.

Mike ran forward to El and pulled her into a hug.

"Mike, dont do it.. please!" She cried.

"Its okay.. you'll be safe and thats all I need.. Please El." He held her head in his hands. She looked up at him, her big doe eyes shimmering.

"I love you." Mike whispered, he leaned in and kissed her.

"Times up." Peters said, handcuffing Mike.

"No!" El cried.

Mike was shoved away.

"Mike!!" She screamed as she watched Mike slip away from her. She felt like her world was crashing down on her.

 **Im so emotionally unstable right now.**


	29. chapter 29

**Hey guys, I apologize in advance for these next chapters being upsetting :p** **Lab**

Mike jolted awake. He rubbed his throbbing head, trying to remember how he fell asleep. He peered around the room. His breath caught in his throat as he noticed the multiple machines around him; especially the large tube full of the red liquid that gave him powers.

"Hello, Michael." Peters said as he entered the room.

Mike glared at him.

"You dont have to look at me like that, Youre the one who agreed to this." Peters said, turning on the machines.

Mike scoffed, "I didnt agree to like you." He muttered.

Peters shrugged, "True... neither did I."

Mike tensed up as multiple guards entered the room.

"Get him ready." Peters said.

The guards nodded and walked over to Mike. They strapped his wrists and ankles to the chair.

"What are you doing?" Mike asked, struggling against the restraints.

"Im continuing my plan." Peters said as he hooked Mike up to the syrum.

Mikes mouth went dry.

"Oh this is going to hurt... a lot." Peters said.

"But El-" Mike started.

Peters slapped his forhead, "Ohhh I forgot you two could feel eachothers pain... Oh well." Peters laughed.

"You said she wouldnt get hurt!" Mike yelled.

"Im not doing this to her physically. This is all you." Peters said, grinning. "Have fun." He whispered, pressing a button.

Mike watched in horror as the red liquid found its way through the needle in his arm.

His veins lit on fire and his vision went black. All Mike could feel or understand was the boiling pain that seemed to last a life time.

His screams flooded the facility.

 **El** El jolted awake. His pain over took her as she fell off her bed. She screamed, thrashing on the floor.

Her vision blurred, "NO!" She cried, clawing at her arms.

Joyce rushed into her room, "EL?! El whats wrong?" She asked frantically.

El didnt seem to notice her mother, "Make it stop, please!!" She screamed, tears flooding her face.

"El, talk to me, whats happening?" Joyce cried, pulling El into her lap.

El thrashed around, her blood boiling, "Theyre hurting him!! Stop STOP!!" El cried, her breath coming out in short gasps.

Joyce screamed for Jonathan. El saw him barely enter the room and then run out to get something.

"It hurts!! It hurts so bad, Please!! Stop, please!!" El screamed.

Jonathan returned with a bag of ice.

Joyce pressed it against El's neck.

"El... honey?" Joyce asked, trying to calm her.

El stopped moving, her eyes darted across the room. She took in quick gasps of air, her hands twitching.

After what seemed like centuries, El finally calmed down.

Her lips were cracked and her eyes were bloodshot.

"El?" Joyce asked, concern flooding her face.

El gripped her arm, sitting herself up. The bag of ice was melted, but El still held onto it, feeling the heat radiating off her skin.

"El, what happened?" Joyce asked quietly, pushing El's hair out of her face.

El breathed in deeply, "I dont.. know.. I dont know what theyre doing." El whispered, leaning into her mother.

Joyce hugged her.

 **12:07am**

El was sitting on the couch, a blanket draped across her shoulders. Joyce sat next to her, trying to help her.

Jonathan had called the chief and was pacing while Will sat on the other side of Joyce.

Hop busted in, red in the face.

"What happened?" He asked, immediately kneeling infront of El.

El shook her head and stared at the floor.

"Jim.." Joyce said, leading him into the kitchen.

Hop stared at her, concern in his eyes.

Joyce stared at her hands, tears pricking her eyes.

"Hey.. what happened?" Hop asked, cupping her face in his hands.

"It was horrible... whatever theyre doing.. to Mike... She can feel it." Joyce whispered.

Jim went frigid.

"We have to get him out of there... I dont care if they claim that theyre the government- th.. this _is_ illegal." Jim said.

Joyce's eyes widened, "The files." She said.

Jim nodded, heading over to call everyone.

10 minutes later everyone was gathered around the living room. Everyone but Scott, who was in the hospital.

After Joyce explained what happened, silence filled the room.

The kids all sat on the couch, staring at eachother and noticing how wrong they looked with their missing friend.

"This.. cant be legal.." Dustin said.

"It isnt.. but it seems like they can do anything.." Jim said.

"So.. we were wondering if you two got any files." Joyce said, motioning to Lucas and Steve.

"We were only there for a couple minutes before the guards found us.. but we did get a couple things." Steve said.

Lucas nodded and pulled some folders out of his backpack.

He handed them to Hopper.

He flipped through them. He threw two aside and then held up the remaining three, "These are the files we need." He said.

"Whats in them?" Nancy asked.

"Subjects. One of them is actually Scott's file. The other two are..." He looked back at them, "All about the syrums that gave kids abilities and.. Subject 008." Hopper said.

Jonathan perked up at the mention of Scott's file. Hoppper noticed this and handed it to him. He started scanning it.

"Can I see the syrum file?" Nancy asked.

Hop handed it to her and then began reading the other file.

"Oh my god." Nancy gasped.

"What is it?" Max asked.

"It says that the syrum allows the.. person.. to heal people." She read.

"No way.." Dustin muttered.

"It does." Will said quietly.

Joyce looked at him, "How do you know?" She asked quietly.

Will bit his lip, "Well... when he came looking for me.. Mike helped me turn back but.. as I was turning back.. A guard shot me.." Will started, his eyes shining.

Joyce kneeled next to him.

"I... I think.. I think I died.." Will said, wiping his eyes, "But Mike saved me.." He whispered.

Joyce hugged him, "Oh my god.." She mumbled, stroking his hair.

"It says that it'll heal _anything_ wrong with that person." Nancy said, her eyes widening.

Joyce pulled back, "The pod." She said.

"I think its gone.. It might of died when I got shot and then Mike got rid of it." Will said.

Joyce nodded.

"But we need to focus on getting Mike back.." He said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Shit.." Nancy muttered.

"What?" Dustin asked.

"Once a certain amount of the syrum is injected into someone... They cant block out the person who is controlling them. Ever." She explained.

El quietly stood up and walked to her room.

Everyone looked after her.

"I.. I'll go talk to her." Will said, following her.

He knocked on the door quietly, "El?" He asked, opening the door. His eyes widened as he saw her throwing things into a suitcase.

"What are you doing?" He asked, running over to her.

El ignored him. Will noticed her blank expression.

"El." Will said sternly, grabbing her hand.

El stopped. She stared at him and thats when she broke. She slumped to the floor, her body shaking.

"El??" Will asked, kneeling next to her.

"Im sorry." She cried, staring at him.

Will shook his head, "Why?" He asked.

"Everything thats happening.. its my fault. I thought that I could.. live a normal life.. and have friends.. and a family.. but I just cause everyone pain.." She cried.

"No.. El this isn't your fault.. you didnt want any of this to happen.. when you opened the gate.. you didnt want to.." Will said, holding her hand.

El looked him dead in the eye, "It _is_. Just because I didnt _want_ to.. or th- that I didnt _mean_ to. Im still the one who did it!" She yelled.

"El.." Will whispered.

She waved him off and stood up, zipping her suitcase.

"El, stop!" Will cried, grabbing her wrist.

"I have to go! I cant be here.. I'll just hurt everyone!" She cried.

"No.. you wont. Ive been in your position. Blaming yourself for hurting people.. killing people.. So has Mike.. Youre not alone El. No matter what you do we will _all_ still be here for you." Will said.

El sat on the bed, shaking her head, "I cant.." She whispered.

Will sat next to her, "Remember that 12 year old girl who only wanted to be loved.. She only wanted to help her friends and do anything for them. She would stay with them because they made her feel stronger. She made _them_ feel stronger. She stayed with them and did anything to help them because at the time.. she didn't fully understand the consequences and... as long as they were safe, she didnt care because she loved them. Not knowing what the word was for what she was feeling... she still stuck with it.. El.. thats the girl we need right now. Who you need right now.. Your trueself.. You need her.. I need her.." Will looked at her, " _We_ need her." he said.

El looked at him, "You mean that?" She asked, her voice quiet.

Will nodded, "Every bit of it."

El hugged him, "Thank you." She whispered.

Will nodded.

 **This was short but now ya know why I named this story we need her. This entire story actually started here but it was between El and Mike in my head. But Ive changed a lot about what I wanted to do but I think it turned out okay.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Hello guys, gals and non-binary pals! I just have to say that there is a guest user who always reviews and their guest name is Hello Darkness and if you know who you are then I just wanna say your reviews are great. I know it may be weird but your reactions always make me laugh even though they may be like OH MY GOD WHAT THE EFF!! I think theyre great and I just wanna say thanks :) And everyone else who is still here, I really appreciate it!!** **Annnyyywwaay I hope you keep reading because I still have A LOT and am most likely going to do a sequel :)**

El

El ran through the hallways of the lab. She kept hearing his screams echo through the building. They pushed her to him, even though she had no idea where he was going.

"Mike!" She cried, running faster, her heart drumming in her ears.

She turned a corner and stopped dead.

Brenner stood there, holding a gun to Mike head. Peters stood next to him, a smug look on his face.

"No..." El whispered, her legs giving out. She kneeled in front of Brenner, horror spreading across her face.

"How?" She cried, her body shaking.

Brenner smiled, "Hello Eleven." He said.

"No!!" El cried, covering her ears with her hands.

Peters walked behind her and grabbed her hair. He pulled her head back until she was looking at Brenner.

Tears fell down her face.

"El..." Mike said.

El looked at him. He had dark circles under his eyes and multiple bruises covering him. He had a large gash on the side of his head that drenched his hair with blood.

"Mike..." El cried, reaching out to him.

Peters pulled her back. El screamed, grabbing his wrists.

"Eleven." Brenner said, loading the gun.

El's heart dropped. She stared at Mike.

He gave a sad smile.

"Papa.." El whispered.

"You have caused me much grief... now it is your turn to now the pain I've felt." Brenner spat, pressing the gun to Mikes temple.

"No!! Please, not him!! Papa please, no!!" El cried, struggling to get away from Peters.

Brenner shook his head.

Mike stared back at her.

"I love you." He said, a single tear falling down his face.

Brenner pulled the trigger.

"NO!!!" El screamed.

El jolted awake, drenched in sweat. She shoved off her tangled blankets, her hands shaking. She felt tears escaping her eyes. She held her head whispering _not him_ over and over.

She flipped on her lamp; the darkness making her feel completely alone.

Her nightmares had been returning ever since the lab had taken Mike.

El looked over at her nightstand. Her heart swelled as she noticed the small bear that Mike had given her. She picked it up and held it to her chest.

She closed her eyes and reached for Mike.

Nothing.

She felt nothing.

El layed on her side and tried to make herself as small as she could.

"Im going to get you home... whatever it takes." She whispered, clutching the bear.

 **Lab**

Mike was thrown into a small white room. He knew he hit the floor and that it shouldve hurt, but he felt nothing. He was empty.

Peters had injected him with almost all of his syrum. He said that once Mike was stronger he would put the rest in and the thought of being Peters puppet made Mike furious.

Mike rolled over on his back. He stared at the dull, cracked ceiling.

He slowly scanned the room. It was small, empty and freezing.

Mike was glad that he wasnt wearing a hospital gown. He pushed himself until he was sitting up against the wall.

Mike looked down at his clothes. His blue jacket that he wore the night they found El was gone. He was wearing a plain white tshirt and jeans.

He felt a knot in his throat as he stared at the blood covering his shirt, jeans and hands. Will's blood.

Mike squeezed his eyes shut.

He knew that El would try to reach him but it was useless. The band blocked his powers and he was to weak to recieve it, even if she did manage to reach him.

Mike reached in his pocket and pulled out a small picture. He unfolded it and stared at it, wishing that he could just go back to that moment. The moment when they were finally all together again. This was the same picture El had in her locket.

"Please be safe.." Mike whispered, tracing over El's face with his finger.

He knew that he couldn't wish for her to be happy because it was impossible at the moment.

He knew she would blame herself and he hoped that she wouldnt block herself off from everyone. They needed eachother.

Mike slid down the wall. He layed on his side, his vision blurring and blackening at the edges.

He felt the blood rush to his head as he let go. His last thought of the girl with a number for a name.

 **El**

El was sitting on her bed, holding her locket. What Will said to her circled in her mind. She took off the locket and opened it.

She stared at the picture, tears pricking her eyes. She dropped the locket as she felt their connection break.

Her heart dropped as she fell against her headboard. She couldnt see anything as she took in quick gasps of air.

He was gone.

She screamed.

"NO!!!" El cried, clutching her head.

She covered her face in her hands, muffling her screams.

Joyce busted in, panic stricken.

"El?! El what is it?" She asked, grabbing El's shoulders.

El grabbed onto her mother. She couldn't breathe. She couldnt see. All she knew was that he was gone.

"El?! EL?!" Joyce's screams seemed distant and quiet.

El heard a dull humming as she stared at Joyce.

"He's gone." El whispered, realization hitting her.

Joyce's stared in shock.

"He's gone!" El cried, her hands shaking.

"El..?" Joyce asked.

"NO!! NO HE CANT BE GONE!!" El screamed, slaming her fists down on her bed repeatedly.

Joyce pulled her into a hug, not knowing what else to do.

El's body shook as she cried, parts of her seemed to be ripped away and destroyed in a matter of seconds.

"Gone..." El whispered, going limp.

 **5:45pm**

Joyce held onto El long after she stopped crying. Long after she stopped moving.

She stroked El's hair, rocking her back and forth.

El was staring at nothing, her eyes dull. Tears were still visible on her face.

She looked up as Will appeared in the door way, tears in his eyes.

El immediately peeled away from her mother and hugged Will.

"Im sorry." El whispered, burrying her face in his shoulder.

Will held onto her, "You're not the one to blame.." He muttered.

El pulled back. She noticed that Will was angry. Angry and sad..

"Will?" She asked quietly.

Will stared her dead in the eye, "It can't be Mike.. It can't be him." He said, his voice cracking.

El pressed her forehead against his, holding on to his arms.

They stood in silence, scared that if they barely moved, their whole world would come crashing down.

They may not have realized this two years ago.. but Mike held them together. He brought them together and made them strongrer. He was the bond that they all shared.

And now they believed that he was gone.

 **T - T**


	31. Chapter 31

**Hey guys! I hate cliffhangers and I know you do to so I won't make you ever wait to long unless I need to.** **Oh and uh.. I hope there aren't any Jancy shippers reading...**

Hospital

Jonathan tapped his foot impatiently as he sat in the waiting room. It was the day after they found out that Mike was gone.

Jonathan didnt believe it. The lab wouldnt kill him and Mike was to strong to just let go and loose.

Jonathan jumped as a nurse appeared in front of him.

"Oh, sorry sweetie.. I didnt mean to scare you. You can go see Adeline Scott now." She said, pointing down the hall.

Jonathan thanked her and rushed out of the room. He opened the room to her door slowly. His throat went dry as he saw her. She was pale and looked insanely fragile but the moment he saw her eyes he knew she was going to be fine.

"Hey." Jonathan said, his voice coming out higher than he wanted it to be. He quickly sat down in the chair next to her.

"Hey." She said, her voice quiet.

"I uh.. I brought you this." Jonathan stuttered, handing her the small vase of daisies he was holding.

She sat up slowly and took it, her fingertips brushing his as she did so.

"Theyre beautiful." She whispered, setting them on the table next to her.

"H- how are you?" Jonathan asked.

"Im.. getting better. I've had worse.. the only thing that bothers me is that I cant go see everyone." She answered, staring at him.

"What do you remember?" Jonathan asked, his hand inching towards hers.

"Umm... I remember going to find Will... panicking when we found him and then.. that was it." Scott replied.

"So.. you dont know what happened?" He asked.

Scott shook her head but became concerned as she noticed the look on Jonathans face.

She grabbed his hand, "What happened?" She asked, scared to know the answer.

Jonathan bit his lip, "Uh.. after you got hurt.. Hop told me to get you out of there.. and then as I did the guards got us.. and everyone else.." Jonathan started, his voice wavering, "Will said that.. that they shot at him as he changed back and.. and he _died_.. but Mike _healed_ him?" Jonathan continued, trying to make sense of what happened.

Scott squeezed his hand.

Jonathan looked at her, "Mike blacked out after he healed Will.. and then we were all outside surrounding him with.. guns to our heads and Peters.. He threatened to kill all of us.. starting with El if Mike didnt.. go with him and let him continue his plan.." Jonathan explained, his face hot.

Scott stared at him in shock. She held her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

"Scott?" Jonathan asked quietly.

She looked at him, "I shouldnt have brought him with us to the lab. All the kids shouldve stayed at home.. I thought I could help them.. But my dad.. I just wanted to help.. I- Im sorry." She cried.

Jonathan stood up and hugged her, "This _isnt_ your fault. You wanted to help.. we got El and Will back.. The pods gone.." Jonathan said, his voice cracking.

"But Mike.." Scott muttered, looking at Jonathan.

Jonathan sat back down, "Mike..." He whispered.

"Do you know.. how he's doing?" Scott asked, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

Jonathan felt some tears escape.

"Jonathan." Scott asked, her voice scared.

He looked at her, "They injected him again.. and El felt it.. but then.." His voice stopped.

"What?" Scott asked, tears falling down her face.

"He's gone, Scott." Jonathan blurted out, his hands shaking.

Scott shook her head, "No he's not." She said, disbelief and anger filling up inside her.

"El felt it.. He's gone.. but he _cant_ be.. Not Mike.. that kid is to strong to just.. quit.." Jonathan stuttered.

"He's not dead... Peters wouldn't let that happen.. he may want to fulfill his plan but he would do _anything_ to keep him alive.." Scott said.

Jonathan stared at the floor. He rubbed his forehead, "God I hope so.. Those kids are falling apart without him." He said.

Scott stared at her hand. Her eyes wandered over to the tattoo on her wrist. She closed her eyes and used her powers. She then openes them a secons later, still staring at her wrist.

"Did you read my file?" Scott asked. She didn't ask it accusingly, just curiously.

Jonathan looked at her, "How did you know?" He asked.

"Well if you read it then you would know that I can read minds without touching that persons temple when im feeling negative." Scott answered.

"I did.." Jonathan said, almost guiltily.

"You would also know that I share a bond with Peters... sadly. And I know that Mikes alive... now" Scott said.

Jonathan leaned over and kissed her.

It was short yet perfect.

"What was that for?" Scott asked, not breaking eye contact with him.

"I think I love you." Jonathan answered.

Scott laughed, "And I think that you have too much to take care of right now to be thinking of love." Scott answered.

Jonathan went red.

Scott grinned, "When we get Mike back-" She grabbed his collar and pulled him to her, "And we sure as hell will... then you can think about love, pretty boy." She said.

 **Shorty but a goody...** hopefully Anyway **thats the first Jott-Scottathan-Jadeline-please help with a ship name- chapter :)**


	32. Chapter 32

**Hey guys! Sorry if I dont write as much now because im starting high school tomorrow and I got difficult classes.. and marching band.. yay... Anyway I will try my hardest to update as much as possible!**

January20th

Mike slowly opened his eyes. He was immediately overthrown by the pain racking through his body. His lungs felt like they were on fire. He couldnt make sense of anything around him.

Mike rolled over on his back. He clawed at his chest, begging the pain to stop.

He heard screaming and tried to focus on what was happening. His vision blackened at the edges as he tried to sit up. His felt like his head was going to explode.

He saw guards bust through the door and run towards him. Only when they injected him with a different type of syrum did Mike realise that he was the one screaming.

He felt his body go numb as he lay back down. He took deep breaths as the syrum eased his pain.

Once the guards saw that he had calmed down, they quickly left, leaving him alone in the cold room.

Mike closed his eyes. He tried to remember what happened before he blacked out but his mind was blank.

A single name flashed acrossed his mind. His eyes shot open.

"El." He whispered, his voice hoarse.

Realisation hit him. The connection was broken. Gone. Just like that.

Mike sat up against the wall, his hands shaking.

He really was alone now. Before, even if they couldnt reach eachother, he could still feel her. But now that the bond was broken... he felt nothing.

Mike yelled out and slammed his hands on the ground, hot tears stinging his eyes.

He couldnt imagine what she thought had happened. He didnt want to.

"Im sorry.." Mike whispered, pulling out the crumpled picture. It was all he had left.

Mike closed his eyes and breathed, accepting his fate.

 **El**

El stared blankly at the ground. She was sitting on the couch with Will, an awful silence covered the house.

Joyce walked in, the phone pressed between her shoulder and ear. She placed down the files.

"Yes, that would be great... Yes.. Ok see you later." Joyce hung up the phone.

"Everyone's coming over.. to talk and Scott's getting released from the hospital today, so Jonathan went to go help her.." Joyce said, kneeling in front of the two teens.

She reached out and held their hands, "I'm so sorry that this is happening.. if there's anything I can do.. Please let me know." She said, searching her kids faces.

"Just... help keep us together.. I feel like without Mike.. we might fall apart." Will said quietly.

Joyce nodded, biting her lip. She got up and began looking through the files again.

Will looked at El. She looked like a ghost.

"El?" Will asked.

El slowly looked over at him, her eyes glazed.

"We're going to get through this.. I promise." Will said.

El shook her head, "Friends don't lie.." She whispered, returning to her dull state.

 **Scott**

"Okay so.. everyone's coming over to my house so we can talk." Jonathan explained as he drove away from the hospital.

"Can we stop at the Wheeler's first?" Scott asked.

"Um.. I guess so but if its Nancy that you wanna talk to, we'll see her later." Jonathan said.

"I know.. I just need to talk to her now." Scott answered.

Jonathan pulled into the Wheelers drive way.

"I'll only be a minute." Scott said, getting out of the car.

She slowly walked up to the porch. She hesitated before quietly knocking.

A moment later Nancy opened it. Her eyes were blotchy and her hair was a mess.

She stared at Scott, her eyes shining.

Scott opened her mouth to say something but was at a loss for words.

She shook her head, "Nancy I-" She started.

Nancy stepped forward and hugged her.

Scott went frigid, shocked by the sudden embrace. Realisation hit her. She quickly hugged her back, feeling Nancy's body shake. She was crying.

"I'm sorry." Scott said, her voice muffled by Nancy's shoulder.

Nancy pulled away, tears streaking her face. She quickly wiped her tears with the back of her hand, "Its not your fault.." She said.

"But everything thats happened to you.. Your mom, your brother.. I just-" Scott stuttered.

"Well.. people have it out for my brother.. all because he knows Eleven.. these are all just kids and theyre the ones who are getting the worst of it.." Nancy interrupted, her face hot.

Scott stood in silence.

"I just.. Mike _died_ and my- my mom doesnt even _know_ and because of what P-Peters did.. she won't even understand even if I tell her. His _mother_.. she doesnt even know that he taken!" Nancy cried.

Scott hugged her, not knowing what else to do.

"Here." She said, handing Nancy a small tube full of a bright blue liquid.

"Whats this?" Nancy asked, her voice cracking.

"Its a cure.. for your mom. Ive been working on it ever since I heard what happened. Just put it in a drink and then have her drink all of it.. Then she'll go back to normal." Scott explained.

Nancy stared in shock at the syrum.

"Thank you.." Nancy said, her lips twitching up at the corners.

Scott smiled, "Um.. I need to tell you something else." She said.

Nancy stared at her.

"Mike's alive." Scott said.

Relief flooded over Nancy. She stumbled back against the door frame, her legs shaking.

"He is?" She cried, hugging Scott.

"Yes.. Peters won't kill him, but we _need_ to get him back as soon as we can." Scott said.

Nancy nodded, "We will. Thank you. I'll see you later." She said, stepping back into the house.

Scott waved and then went back to Jonathan's car.

"That was 4 minutes and 37 seconds." He said.

Scott slapped his arm, "Shut up." She said, grinning.

"Lets go share the good news." Jonathan said, pulling out of the driveway.

 **El**

A soft knock at the door pulled El back to reality.

Joyce opened the door. Jonathan walked in, helping the girl that El saw at the lab. El stared at the girls' long blonde curls and bright blue eyes.

"Hey El." Jonathan said, walking over to her, "How are you?" He asked.

El grew agitated at the fact that he didnt look very sad. Did he not care? "Fine." El mumbled shortly.

"Oh- El this is, Scott." Jonathan said, motioning towards the girl standing next to him.

"Isnt that a boys name?" El asked.

Scott chuckled, "Says the girl with a number for a name. My name is Adeline but I go by my last name." She said.

"Scott?" El asked.

She nodded, "Its my mothers maiden name. My name _was_ Adeline Scott-Peters but I changed it." Scott explained.

Jonathan glanced at her sideways.

Realisation flashed across Scott's face as she realised what she just said.

El stood up, "You're related to _Peters_?!"

Scott went pale, "He... he's my.. father." She said, cringing as the words rolled off her tongue.

El stared at her, "You hate him." She stated.

Scott nodded.

"Why?" El asked. She understood what it was like to hate someone that you're supposed to love.

Scott swallowed. She didnt say anything; just rolled up her sleeve and showed El her wrist.

El stared in shock at the number on her arm.

"One..." She whispered, staring at Scott in awe.

Scott nodded, "Im sorry about everything thats happened to you.." She said, stepping closer to El.

As she got closer, El noticed the freckles covering her nose and cheeks. They reminded her of Mike.

"Mike.." El whispered.

Scott took her hands. El stared at them, then at Scott, "He's alive El."

Those three words made El's heart swell. She almost laughed, relief overtaking her.

She hugged Scott.

El looked over at Will, who looked thrilled.

He mouthed _he_ 's _alive_ , to shocked to say anything.

El nodded and hugged him.

"He's alive.." She said. "And we're getting him back."

 **WHOO! Time to start training to get Mike back!**


	33. Chapter 33

**Hey guys! I am so sorry not posting in a while but ive been so tired. I also struggled with writing this because I know what im going to do for the climax but I have no idea how to lead up to it yet! :** P

Lab

Mike flinched as the heavy door slammed open. Peters walked in along with Johnson. Johnson walked over and helped Mike to his feet.

"Whats going on?" Mike asked as he was lead out of the room.

"I realized that for my plan to work, I have to help you grow stronger." Peters explained as they rounded the corner.

"How are we going to do that?" Mike asked.

"Well first.." Peters said, opening a door, "You can start with taking a shower."

Mike walked into the bathroom. It was very clean and warm.

"Take your time, Johnson will be ready with a towel and fresh clothes when youre done." Peters said, closing the door. Mike heard it lock.

 _What the hell..._

Mike took off his bloody, stiff clothes and looked in the mirror.

He had dried blood along his hairline and under his nose. His hair stuck out in all different directions and he had dark circles under his blotchy eyes. He looked like shit.

Mike didnt know how much time has passed since he was taken.

By how he looked he knew at least a couple of weeks.

Mike turned on the shower, waiting for the water to warm up. He noticed how thin he was. He could see all his ribs. He almost threw up.

He stepped into the shower, the warm water stinging his frigid body.

He breathed in the steam, reveling in the warmness.

After he got out and dried off, Johnson had handed him a pair of clothes. It was a black tshirt and jeans. He was also given tennis shoes and socks.

Mike followed Johnson through the maze of the lab until they came up to a big, black door.

Johnson pushed Mike inside, where he was engulfed by darkness.

The room was warm and quiet.

The lights flickered on, causing Mike to jump.

A grey table was in the center of the room, a chair on either side. A large bowl of potato soup and a glass of water sat in the center.

"Take a seat." A voice echoed from the speaker.

Mike sat down so he was facing the door.

Peters walked in and locked the door behind him.

"Hello Michael." He said, sitting across from Mike.

Mike glared at him.

"Look. When you gave up the other day and almost let yourself die, I realized that you aren't as strong as I thought. I know that you still have things to fight for, so lets come to an agreement." Peters said, taking out a folded piece of paper from his jacket. He unfolded it and pushed it towards Mike.

Mike stared at it. It was a picture of him and all of his friends.

"How did you..?" Mike stuttered.

"You see. I can do many things. Many _bad_ things." Peters began, "Now, if you dont cooperate and do _everything_ I tell you, I will have to resort to something that I dont really want to do. I will find ways to make you do what I want and you will _not_ like them, do you understand?" Peters asked, pointing at El in the picture.

Mike swallowed the lump in his throat, "Yes." He whispered.

"Now, I will makw you stronger so that you will be able to endure the rest of the syrum. Then, you will become unstoppable. My plan will unfold perfectly, with you as the beginning." Peters said, "And someday.. I hope that you will willingly follow me. That I wont have to control you and that you'll be.. my partner."

Mike stared at him, hatred boiling up inside him, "What the hell kind of reality are you living in? Because you need to wake the f*ck up. You _tortured_ my friends. You almost _killed_ them- You almost killed your own _daughter_! You are _using_ me to be a weapon that you can do whatever the hell you want with. Youre literally threatening people I love to get your way. There is _nothing_ that you can do that will make me willingly help you. Youre my enemy. I despise you." Mike said, glaring at Peters.

Peters stared at him, "Thats honestly a better response than I was hoping for." He laughed.

"Eat your soup." Peters said.

Mike pushed the bowl away.

Peters scoffed, "Its just _soup_." He said. He took out a spoon from his jacket and took a bite of it, "See? Its fine, now eat." Peters spat, turning to leave the room.

"Its broken." Mike said quickly.

"What?" Peters asked, turning around.

"The connection, between El and I. It broke, she can't feel anything from me anymore. She probably thinks I'm dead" Mike said.

Peters frowned, "Well I guess that's better for the both of you then. Now she'll know to keep away." He muttered as He left the room, locking the door behind him.

Mike stared at the table.

He felt tears pricked his eyes.

 _It's okay... she's safe. She has a family and friends.. she's safe.._ Mike thought.

 _But she's not happy.._

Mike felt his tears fall. He knew she was safe and loved but she wasn't happy. She probably blamed herself.

Mike hated the thought of how she must be feeling right now.

"I'm sorry." Mike whispered, hugging himself.

"I promised... I'm sorry.." he cried.

 **El**

The cold air made her shiver. They stood in an open field. It was February 3rd. They had been training for about a week now.

El kept staring unknowingly at Scott, swearing to herself that she knew her from somewhere.

"Okay, good job you guys!" Scott cheered, after they had all finished an extreme obstacle course.

"Now, since we broke in last time, the lab security has practically doubled. I've talked to the RD about helping us out and they've agreed. Which means that we get 50 agents. This time we will be more prepared and this time we will take _everyone_ home." Scott said.

Everyone mumbled agreement.

"Okay.. take 5." Scott said, waving everyone off.

El walked over to Scott, "Hi." She said.

Scott stared at her for a moment before responding, "Hey." She said, smiling.

"Umm... I've been meaning to ask you how you knew that Mike was alive." El said.

"Oh.. well I can reach out to people that I'm connected to. I'm sadly connected to Peters so I read his mind and learned that Mike had almost died because he had given up, but they helped him stay alive." Scott explained.

El stared at her.

 _He gave up.._ She thought, her throat growing tight.

"Hey... it's okay. We are going to get him back, I promise." Scott said, resting her hands on her shoulders.

El nodded slightly, biting her lip.

"I need him..." She whispered, tears pricking her eyes.

"What?" Scott asked.

"Mike. I need Mike." El sniffed, "He took me in and taught me so many things that I fell in love with and he was always so kind and caring to me and now.. now he's getting tortured because of _me._ " El cried.

Scott pulled her into a hug, "El. This is _not_ your fault. You have put so much love and positivity in his life. He needs you too. He needs you to be strong. Don't blame yourself, ever. We are going to get him back." Scott said.

El held on to her, breathing deeply.

 _I hope so..._

 **Sorry for the short chapter!! I will try to post again soon!!!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait and i hope you enjoy this chapter and i promise that I'll try to post more soon!**

El

El finished packing the last back pack for the group. The bags contained extra amo, weapons, first aid kits and water.

Her hands shook as she zipped the bag and put it in a bin with the rest.

She jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Scott who had a concerned look on her face.

"You okay?" She asked, the wind making her shiver.

"Yeah.. yeah, I'm just thinking." El said as she placed the lid onto the bin.

"Are you sure?" Scott asked, signaling to El's shaking hands.

El stuffed her hands in her pockets. She stared at the ground and sniffed, "No.. I dont know. I.. I just feel myself falling apart... Like im falling endlessly." El said, her voice cracking.

Scott pulled El into a hug, resting her chin on the top of her head.

"I know.. I am too.." She whispered, "I have something for you." Scott said, pulling out a tube with a clear liquid in it.

"What's that?" El asked, taking it.

"It's a syrum that will help me to bring back your memories that I took.." Scott explained.

El stared at her, "What do you mean?" She asked, her voice stern.

"You'll understand after you drink it." Scott said, holding El's hand.

El stared at the bottle. She took a deep breath as she took off the cap and drank it. It stung her throat and made her eyes water. She dropped it and coughed, her vision blurring. She felt Scott touch her temple.

Suddenly, all the memories of her and Scott flooded back into her mind. She fell to her knees, watching them circle in her mind.

Muffled voices brought her back.

She noticed Lucas, Max and Dustin surrounding her, along with Scott.

They helped her up, their questions merging together.

"What happened?"

"Are you okay?"

"What did you drink?"

El ignored them and stared at Scott.

"Addy..?" El asked, stepping forward.

Scott let out a laugh of relief and nodded.

El ran forward and hugged her.

"I'm sorry I forgot!" El cried.

Scott just shook her head, to happy to say anything.

"Hey guys?" Lucas asked, tapping El's shoulder.

El looked over at him. He was pointing at the sky.

Dark red clouds were coming in from the horizon. Lighting and Thunder raddled the sky.

"What the hell?" Scott said, staring in shock.

A scream made El's blood run cold. She turned and felt her heart drop as she saw Will crouched down to the ground, covering his ears and screaming.

"Will!" She yelled, running over to him and skidding down on her knees. She turned him over on his back. His eyes were glazed over.

"Will?" Joyce cried as she and Jonathan ran over.

"W- whats happening to him?" Jonathan asked frantically.

El looked at the sky and then back at Will. She placed her hand over his stomach and closed her eyes.

She slowly opened them as she realized what was happening.

"The pod isn't completely gone." She said, her voice shaking.

Will stopped screaming and went limp. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he started shaking. Black liquid bubbled out of his mouth and ran down his neck.

"Will?!" Joyce cried, clutching her sons shoulders.

"He's turning.." El said in shock.

"Scott." Jonathan said, turning to her.

She nodded and placed her fingers on Will's temples.

She closed her eyes.

A clap of thunder made everyone jump. A distant scream echoed across the field.

"Come on, Will.." Dustin whispered.

Scott furrowed her brows. Her hands started shaking as tears escaped her eyes.

Jonathan grabbed her wrist, "You can do it.." He whispered.

Scott breathed in quickly.

Will stopped shaking as the color flooded back into his body.

Scott opened her eyes and fell back. Jonathan caught her and layed her gently on the grass.

Will breathed in quickly and sat up.

"Will!" Joyce cried, hugging him.

Will started crying, "Did I hurt anyone?" He asked, his voice muffled by his mothers shoulder.

"No.. no baby.. you didnt even turn." She answered, holding him tighter.

El breathed in relief. She looked over at Scott. Jonathan was helping her to her feet. El noticed the blood under her nose.

Scott wiped it away, "That hasnt happened in a while.." She said, her face pale.

"Are you okay?" El asked.

Scott nodded, "Ive been through worse." She said.

"Go to your brother." She said to Jonathan.

He quickly nodded and ran over to Will.

"Addy.." El said.

Scott looked at her, "I havent been called that in years." She said. Her smile faded as she caught sight of the clouds.

"What's happening?" Max asked.

"The walls between the demensions are breaking." Scott said, staring at the red clouds.

"I dont think that thats the only thing causing this.." El said.

Scott nodded slowly.

"We need to go, now." She said, walking over to the truck.

She passed out vests and guns, skipping over Will and Joyce.

"What are you doing?" Joyce asked.

"You need to stay here with Will. Whatever is happening is effecting him and you need to take care of him. Bringing him with us will only make it worse." Scott explained.

Joyce was silent for a second, then she nodded.

Will stared at Scott, "Promise me that you'll bring him back?" He asked, his voice quiet and hurt.

Scott nodded, "I promise." She said.

Everyone said goodbye as Joyce and Will took hoppers car and left.

The sky was now completely covered in the dark red clouds.

"Okay, heres the plan," Scott said, rolling out a crumpled map. "There's a very high chance that Peters is done with injecting Mike with the syrum, so that means bringing him back is going to be difficult. The agents will go in first this time to take care of the gaurds and while theyre doing that the RD will be hacking into security cameras and shuting the phones down. Once the agents are finished, we will go in and locate Mike. Theres a good chance that since El is near Mike, she'll be able to at least locate him. We _need_ to get El to Mike because shes the only one who has had a connection with him and who can bring him back. While we are finding Mike a seperate group that will consist of Hopper, Dustin, Max, Lucas and Steve will go find Peters. Me, Jonathan, Nancy, and El will go find Mike. Do you all understand?" Scott explained.

"Why cant we go with you to find Mike? We are his bestfriends." Lucas asked.

"I know and thats why you have to go after Peters. If Peters saw that you were looking for mike, he would use him to hurt you guys because he knows how much you care about him. Plus, dont you want to get a punch in at Peters?" Scott said.

Dustin grinned, "That son of a bitch is gonna wish he was dead." He said.

Max nodded.

"Good...You ready?" Scott asked the group.

They nodded.

"Lets go get our dungeon master." Dustin said.

 **Lab**

Mike was being controlled by Peters. He wanted to test out how the syrum was working so he had placed Mike in an empty room.

Mike could see what he what he was doing but couldnt do anything about it. He couldnt push Peters away... now he could only watch.

"You are going to open a gate." Peters said.

"No!" Mike yelled. It was only heard by him though, since it was just in his head.

Mike watched in horror as his arm went up. He watched the wall crack down the center and was terrified at how he couldnt feel anything.

Mike closed his eyes as the wall continued to break appart. A familiar shriek made him snap.

"STOP!" He screamed, throwing himself to the floor.

He was himself again.

"Dammit!" Peters yelled, slamming open the door.

"You are supposed to _let me in_!" He screamed at Mike, kicking him in the side.

"We had a _deal!_ " He yelled, throwing him against the wall.

Mike gasped as the air was knocked out of him.

"You do as I say!" He punched him in the throat.

"Or I _Kill_ everyone you love!" He screamed, slamming Mike's head against the wall.

Mike sent Peters flying into the wall, "You even _think_ about hurting them and I will _kill_ you!" Mike screamed, glaring at Peters.

Two guards rushed in and grabbed Mike.

They pulled him out of the room and strapped him to a chair.

Mike yelled and tried to break away, hot tears in his eyes.

Peters walked over to him.

"I've had _enough_ of you. I have _never_ liked you but I have always admired your strength. I intend to _use_ it. With. No. Trouble." Peters spat as he hooked Mike up to the machine.

Mikes knuckles went white as he gripped the chair.

"No..." He whispered.

Peters grinned, "Goodbye Mike." He muttered.

Mike screamed as the last of the syrum entered his bloodstream.

He felt himself breaking away as his world was lit on fire.

Michael Wheeler watched as everything he was, burned and crumpled before him.

He had lost.

 **Enjoy the cliffhanger!**


	35. Chapter 35

**Hey guys! That last cliffhanger was pretty ruthless so I decided that I wasnt going to make you wait long. But I have a lot more cliffhangers coming so be prepared!** **El**

El followed Scott as the group trecked through the woods that surrounded the lab. It was February 15th and the cold air made El tense up even more.

All she could think about was getting Mike back and ending all of this. But her gut kept telling her that it was far from over. The dark red sky seemed to confirm it.

"We're here." Scott whispered as they came up to the back gate.

"Timothy, you and your team will take the perimeter. Alison, take your team and cover the east part of the lab while Jack takes the west. Be quiet and quick." Scott orded the agents.

They all nodded and quickly split apart.

Everyone else took cover behind bushes and trees.

"You all remember the plan?" Scott asked.

They nodded.

"Good, now Peters will most likely be towards the center of the lab and there's a high chance that Mike will be near him, if not with him." Scott said.

"So, we stay together at first right?" Steve asked, his fingers twitching around his gun.

"We only split up if we need to. If we all get to Peters first, then we will have a better chance of getting everyone out safely." Scott answered.

The group mumbled agreement before falling silent.

Their short silence was interrupted by gunshots and screams.

Scotts walkie talkie made a static sound that caused her to jump.

She lowered the volume and held it up to her ear.

"All- Cle- ... Its- .. Okay-... Over." A voice said.

She turned it off and looked at the group, "Lets go." She said.

El buzzed with anticipation as they snuck through the back gate.

She almost screamed when they rounded the corner and ran into the agents.

Dustin patted her shoulder.

"Sorry." She whispered.

The agents flanked the group as they entered the lab.

"How many did we loose?" Scott asked one of them.

"24." He answered.

El bit her lip.

They silently walked through the maze of the lab. The lights kept flickering slowly.

"Didnt they shut the power off?" El asked Jonathan.

He shrugged, "I dont think it matters, since we're dealing with the Upside Down." He answered.

They rounded the corner and were enveloped in complete chaos.

Jonathan pulled El and Dustin into a room as the gunshots went off. Nancy, Max and Lucas quickly followed.

They hid under the tables as the screams echoed through the halls.

El covered her ears as the screams rattled the room.

After what seemed like hours the sound died down.

The door busted open and Hopper came in, dragging Steve.

Scott locked the door behind him.

"Oh my god!" Nancy whsipered, crawling over to where Hopper layed him.

"He was shot in the shoulder." Hopper said as he took out his first aid kid.

He fumbled inside until he found bandages. He ripped of Steve's sleeve.

El crawled over.

"We have to get the bullet out." Hopper muttered, sweat dripping down his face.

"I can do it." El whispered.

"Are you sure?" Scott asked as she came over, her voice shaking.

El nodded.

She placed her shaking hand over the bloody wound and closed her eyes.

 _Thank god hes unconscious.._ She thought as she located the bullet.

A moment later she felt it in her hand. She opened her eyes and dropped it on the floor.

Hopper quickly stitched up the hole and wraped it up in thick layers of guase.

"That should hold until... yeah.." Hopper said, wiping his bloody hands on his jeans.

"We need to get going.." Scott said, her voice quiet.

"I'll stay with him.." Nancy said.

Scott nodded.

"Give him these if he wakes up and _stay quiet_." Hopper said, giving Nancy pain killers.

El hugged her.

"We're getting him back." She whispered.

Nancy gave a sad smile, "I know." She said.

Scott slowly opened the door and walked out, her gun in her hand.

El followed her and gasped as she saw the bodies. Guards and agents covered the floor.

Scott stared at them, her blood boiling.

"Lets go." She said, leading them down a dark hallway.

El's breathing quickened at the sight of all the blood and bodies.

Mad grabbed her hand, giving her a reassuring look.

El went frigid as a clap of thunder made the building shake. Dust and rubble fell from the ceiling.

Screams quickly followed.

Hopper rushed forward, his gun up.

Scott and Jonathan followed him to the end of the hallway.

"Oh my god.." Scott gasped.

El ran forward so she could see.

There was a giant hole in the wall that crashed through multiple other rooms.

El's breath caught in her throat as she walked through them.

Gun shots echoed through the facility, constantly followed by screams.

As she walked through the destroyed room she kept thinking about how many will die tonight. How many families will be hurt. When will it stop.

She lost it as she stumbled into the final room.

She stared at a large chair connected to a machine. El reached out and touched the straps on the arms of the chair. Her hands shook as she saw the cracked tube that was stained red.

Max came up behind her, followed by Dustin and Lucas.

She turned to face Scott.

"They... What did they do?" She cried, her lip trembling.

Scott stared in shock at the chair. She just shook her head, tears in her eyes.

Max hugged El from behind.

"We need to find him.." El whimpered.

"We are..." Scott said, stepping towards El, "But we can't break now. We need to stay strong.. and.. and focused.. You can do it.. He needs us right now.. And we nees him..." She said.

El wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and nodded.

Another clap of thunder made the ground shake.

"We're running out of time!" Hopper yelled as one of the walls crumpled.

"Come on!" Scott yelled as she ran out of the room.

They sprinted through the hallways, fear running through their veins.

"Watch out!" Jonathan yelled as part of the ceiling caved in. He pushed Scott out of the way as it crashed to the ground. He screamed as it landed on his leg.

"No!" Scott screamed.

"Keep going!" Jonathan yelled.

Dustin and Max stayed back to help him as the rest of them ran.

El grabbed Lucas' hand as they sprinted through the crumpling hallways.

"Go go go!" He yelled as the the ground gave out beneath them as they ran past.

Hopper took the lead.

He stopped at the end of the hallway and shot at two of the guards.

More guards starting running from all directions.

"Split up!" Scott yelled.

El pulled Lucas down one of the hallways. She snapped the guards necks as he shot at them.

The lab continued to crumple as the thunder grew louder.

El caught sight of the sky and saw a shadow of the monster.

"Go!" Lucas screamed, pushing her forward.

She sprinted through the maze, her heart racing.

El reached out to Mike. She felt a small flicker but it was enough to find him.

"This way!" She yelled, pointing to the right.

The pair raced down the hallway, jumping over holes and ducking away from falling rubble.

El felt herself growing weaker as they ran, tasting blood.

She heard yelling and turned to see guards following them. Lucas pulled her out of the way.

"Keep going!" He yelled as he loaded his gun.

"No, they'll kill you!" El cried, pulling on his arm.

"It'll just make things worse for them if they do." Lucas said. He smiled at her before ducking back out to face the guards.

"If you die, I'll kill you!" She yelled before running down the hallway.

El sprinted down the hallways, feeling like she's been running forever and that it would never stop.

She could still hear the gunshots.

 _How many?_ She thought as she slowed down, her breathing uneven and raspy.

"Mike?" She whispered, pushing herself forward.

The only response she got was a loud crack of thunder. She covered her ears, her face hot.

"Mike?" She said louder as she neared the end of the hallway.

She closed her eyes as she stepped over a body.

"I know you're here!" She yelled, hot tears in her eyes.

She stopped as she turned the corner.

Right before her stood a big black door. Her door.

"No... please.. no.." She whimpered.

She stepped forward and placed her hand against it, the cold metal making her shake.

She slid to her knees, visibly crying.

El pressed her forehead against the door.

"Mike?" She whispered.

 **T n T**


	36. Chapter 36

**Hey guys! I have been looming forward to writing this chapter for ever!! I hope I dont mess it up because ive thought about it A LOT!** **Anyway, I just want to say thank you for all of your reviews! They really mean a lot to me :)** **Hope you enjoy**

Mike was curled up in a dark room. His breathing was unsteady and he was shaking uncontrollably. He was in hell.. worse than that.

Mike clutched his head, not knowing what else to do since the rest of the world seemed like it was trying to kill him.

He screamed. He screamed until his lungs burned and his voice broke. His vision swirled into black blobs that created monsters in his eyes.

He felt the final stages of the syrum. He had prayed and hoped that this would never happen but

The world was against him. Mike had given up hope and when he heard a single voice, he broke.

"Mike?" El whispered.

Her quiet voice drifted over to him.

He looked up, his hands shaking and tears stinging his eyes.

"No..." He whimpered, sweat dripping down his face.

"Mike..." El said again, her voice louder.

Mike bit his lip, silent sobs racking his body.

 _Please.. you cant be here.._ he thought, pushing himself away from the door.

"Mike... Please, I- I know youre in there.. just.. please." El begged, her voice cracking.

Mike shook his head, his vision blurred by tears, "Y- you cant be here!" He cried, pulling his knees to his chest.

El pressed her hand against the door harder, "No, I _can_ and I- Im not leaving without you." She said, her face hot.

Mike crawled over to the door and pressed his hand against it, "No, El... you _cant_... Peters.. he can take complete control over me.. I-" Mike said, his voice wavering.

"I dont care! We- we can fix it or-" El interrupted.

" _No_." Mike stopped her, "I.. if I hurt you.. I couldnt live with it.. please.. you _have_ to get out of here before- augghh!" Mike yelled, clutching his head as pain shot through it.

"Mike?!" El cried.

"El.. listen to me, please leave. _Please.._ " Mike whimpered, pressing his forehead against the door.

"No." El said, her voice stern and her heart full, "You- you are in this position because of _me_. You do _not_ deserve this and I am going to fix it. I will not _stop_ until you are happy and safe. You are the nicest and most incredible person I know and it _kills_ me to even think about what they did to you." El said, her voice breaking.

"El.." Mike began before cutting off with a scream. He clawed at the door, holding his head.

"Mike?!" El cried, her heart racing.

"El- Get out! Now!" Mike yelled.

"No! No you- you can fight it! You can see through it or-" El cried, slamming her hand against the door.

"No- I cant see... I cant stop him! Just- please _leave_!" Mike cried.

He screamed as Peters took control of him.

El backed away from the door, her hands shaking.

There was a long, eery pause that made her heart drop.

"Mike?" She whimpered.

She screamed as the door swung open, revealing the dark room.

El went frigid as she saw Mike standing in the doorway.

His head was tilted down to the side so that she could only see the twisted grin on his face.

He looked terrifying.

Mike cocked his head upwards so that he was looking at her. His eyes were souless, black pits.

"He warned you." Peters said, his voice echoing through the halls.

El stared in horror, frozen in place.

Mike smiled, "Now its time to die." He whispered.

His hand lifted slowly and threw El back into the wall.

There was a loud crack before she fell to the floor.

Mike walked towards her as El stumbled to her feet.

He slammed her head into the wall, making her scream.

She fell to the ground, the room spinning.

"Get up and fight!" Peters yelled, kicking her in the side.

El leaned against the wall and stood up, a thin trail of blood escaping her mouth.

"I will _not_ hurt him." She said, clutching her side.

Mike glared at her.

"Wrong answer." Peters spat, grabbing her throat.

El gripped Mikes wrists as she struggled to breathe.

"You had a deal with him!" She sputtered, the edges of her vision going black.

Mike grinned, "Yes.. and he promised to let me in. But he _didnt_ do that so therefore-" Peters threw her down the hallway, "I can hurt you as much as i want." He muttered, walking towards her.

El gasped for air, clutching her throat. She stumbled to her feet.

"Fine." She fell to her knees, "Hurt me. Kill me. But please... leave him _alone_. This all started with _me_. Please." El begged, her voice raspy.

Mike stared at her, "It may have started with _you_.. but you were a disappointment. _He_ wasnt." Peters responded, lifting her up telepathically.

"You _deserve_ punishment." He spat, throwing her into the double doors.

El heard a loud crack as she collided with the pole between the two doors.

She screamed as she fell to the ground, her leg throbbing.

Mike stepped forward and shoved her against the wall, clutching her throat.

"You, _deserve_ to know that you have _lost._ " Peters yelled.

El shook her head and gripped Mikes wrists, "Mike.. Please." She whispered.

Peters laughed, "He cant hear you." He spat.

"Yes he _can_. He always has. He is stronger than you and _nothing_ can ever take that away from him." El responded, staring at Mike.

Mikes head twitched, "You cant-" His grip loosened for a moment before tightening.

El's vision went cloudy, "Mike- Fight it!" She cried, her head throbbing.

"No-" Peters yelled, his voice wavering.

El felt a tear fall, her vision going black. "I love you." She whispered before falling to the ground.

Mike stumbled back, his hands shaking.

"I- can't- No- Im- in- contrOol!" Peters yelled.

"NO- YOURE- NOT!" Mike screamed, gaining control.

He fell back against the wall, breathing heavily. He closed his eyes, his head spinning.

"El... El I did it." He breathed.

His heart skipped a beat when he didnt get a response.

He opened his eyes and cried out. Mike skidded to the ground, lifting Els body into his lap.

"El?" He cried, cupping her face.

Her eyes barely fluttered open. She slowly lifted her hand to his face.

"You did it." She whispered.

"Hey- hey hey, stay with me, come on!" Mike stuttered, panic rising in his chest.

El gave a sad smile, "You're incredible..." She whispered.

Her hand fell.

"No no no- no no! El! El!" Mike cried, holding her closer.

"Come on! Stay with me, please!" He sobbed, rocking her back and forth.

"Come on, El! I need you, please!" He screamed, his body shaking.

His screams echoed down the crumpled halls, filled with agony.

Mike clutched her body, feeling it turn cold.

He stared at her, cupping her face with his hand.

"I cant loose you again.." He whispered, his voice breaking.

He closed his eyes, his heart racing.

Mike opened his eyes to the warm glow emitting from his hand.

He stared at it in shock. His heart sped up as it faded away.

He pushed El's curly hair out of her eyes.

"El?" He asked quietly, his voice shaking.

His breath caught in his throat.

El's eyes fluttered open.

"El!" Mike cried, hugging her tightly.

She wrapped her arms around his shaking body.

"Mike.." She whimpered, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

"I thought I lost you.." Mike whispered, looking her over.

El gave a small smile. She leaned forward and gently kissed him.

"That makes two of us." She said softly.

Mike grinned, his heart full.

El's eyes widened, "Lucas!- Everyone- we were all seperated!" She said, getting to her feet.

Mike caught her as she stumbled.

"Careful!" He yelped, worry rushing over him.

"Im fine- we have to go!" She said, staring at him.

Mike nodded, "Lets end this."

 **Ahhhh! Only a couple chapters left!!!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Whee doggy that last chapter was an emotional roller coaster and the ride isn't over yet guys! Sorry for the wait, I was in Michigan and after this chapter I don't know when I will be able to update again so, sorry in advance if I make you wait! I hope the feels hit ya hard like they did to me :)**

Mike and El races down the crumpled hallways, hand in hand.

"Where did you see him last?" Mike asked as they rounded the corner.

"I don't know, everything happened so fast! I just hope nothing bad happened to him." El answered.

Thunder raddled the building as the pair ran, making their hearts race.

"Lucas!" El cried as they jumped over a fallen piece of cement.

 _You better not be dead._ Mike thought, gritting his teeth.

They rounded the corner and skidded to a hault as they were met with a gun.

Mike gasped as the cold rim touched his forehead.

He couldn't tell who was on the other end of the gun since the hallway was dark.

The lights flickered and relief flooded over Mike.

"Lucas!" He breathed, hugging his friend.

"M- Oh my god, _Mike_!" Lucas stuttered before hugging him back.

"Good job on not dying." El muttered as she hugged Lucas.

"I warned them not to try to kill me because my best friends are the telekinetic kids." Lucas said, laughing a little in relief.

Mike shook his head in disbelief, a small grin on his face.

"Are you okay?" El asked, pointing to the bloody gash on the side of Lucas' head.

"Pssh, it's just a cut." He said, waving it off, "what about you?" He asked, motioning towards the bruises on her neck.

Her face went pale.

Mike bit his lip, studying his shoes.

Lucas stared at his friends expressions, "Oh.." he whispered in understanding.

A crack of thunder made them jump.

"We should find the others." Mike said, shaking his hands.

"Yeah." El answered, heading down the hallway.

The group climbed over and ducked under all the rubble as they made their way through the lab. They didn't talk, only called out the names of their lost friends.

"Scott?" Lucas yelled.

Nothing.

"Hopper?" Mike called out.

The only reply was thunder.

"Jonathan?" El yelled.

Silence.

El bit her lip.

"You don't think...?" Lucas began.

Mike shook his head.

Then they heard a yell.

"Addy?!" El cried, running down the hallway.

"El, wait!" Mike called after her.

She raced through the rubble, calling for Scott.

"El?" Scott yelled.

"Scott!" Mike answered, rounding the corner and running right into her.

She screamed, jumping back.

"Oh my god!" She exclaimed as she caught sight of Mike.

She pulled him into a hug.

"Jesus kid.." she muttered, looking him over.

Mike cracked a grin, "Thanks."

El pushed herself forward and hugged Scott.

"Guess I should've followed you two then." Scott said as she ruffled Lucas' hair.

"You would've just been met with a whole lotta guns." Lucas said.

Scott frowned.

"It's okay.. we're okay." El reassured her.

Scott nodded and then looked to Mike, "How are you?" She asked as they began walking down the hallway.

"I... He's finished with the syrum..." mike answered.

Scott went white.

"But... I managed to block him out.. with El's help." Mike said, squeezing El's hand.

Scott nodded, "That's good- that you can fight it- but we need to get you back to my lab as quickly as possible." Scott said.

Mike motioned to the hole in the ceiling that revealed the red sky, "That might be a problem." He muttered.

"Guys.." El said, rushing forward towards a large pile of rubble.

She kneeled down and pulled out a bloody piece of fabric.

"Jonathan.." Scott whispered, staring at the spatters of blood on the floor.

"They must've moved him." Lucas said.

"They?" Mike asked.

"Max and Dustin." Scott answers without looking up.

"Okay.. so you guys got seperated from Hopper, max and Dustin moved Jonathan somewhere- what happened to him?" Mike asked, trying to wrap his head around everything.

"This pile of cement fell.. on his.. leg." El answered, her hands shaking a little.

Mike bit his lip, "So.. who else came?" He asked as they started to follow the small bits of blood down the hallway.

"Nancy and Steve." Lucas answered.

"What happened to them?" Mike asked, worry flooding over him.

"Steve got shot in the shoulder so Nancy stayed with him in a room." He replied, ducking under a fallen pipe.

"Where's Will?" Mike asked.

"I'll explain later." Lucas grunted as he climbed over a large piece of cement.

Mike frowned as they followed Scott.

His head started to twitch with pain. He clenched his fist, feeling his nails dig into his skin.

"Jonathan?" El called.

"Max?.. Dustin?" Mike yelled.

"Hopper?" Lucas called out.

"Lucas?" A voice answered.

"That's Dustin." Mike said, picking up his pace.

"Dustin?" Mike yelled, now running.

"Mike?!" Dustin exclaimed as he caught sight of his friend running down the hallway.

"Mike!" He yelled as he jumped on him.

"Oh my God!!" He muttered over and over again.

"I can't believe that you're here!- I mean yeah we came here to get you but we did it!" Dustin cheered, high fiving Lucas.

Mike sighed in relief.

"We're all hiding in here." Dustin said, leading him into a small room.

Mike was immediately attacked with a hug.

He stumbled back as Nancy hugged him in a death grip.

Mike hugged back, relief making him shake.

"Mike.." Nancy mumbled, to shocked to say much.

Mike almost laughed, "Hey Nancy." He said.

Nancy cupped his face and made him look at her. Her eyes scanned his face.

"You look awful." She muttered.

This time Mike actually laughed.

"So so you." He smiled.

Max walked over and gave him a hug and ruffled his hair, "Now we have two friends who have come back to life." She said.

"Three." Mike replied, motioning to El.

He intended it as when she went to the Upisde Down, not what happened earlier which pained him to think about.

He closed his eyes and breathed, his fingers tingling.

A hand on his shoulder made him jump. Mike turned to see Hopper.

"Good to see you, kid." He said.

Mike nodded.

He turned back to the group.

He noticed Steve unconscious in the corner and Jonathan on the ground with bloody cloth wrapped around his leg.

"We have to help them." Mike said.

"Can't you heal people?" Max asked, wrapping up Jonathan's leg.

Mike bit his lip and stared at his hands, "Yeah." He muttered, glancing over at El.

He kneeled beside Steve and layer his hand on his shoulder.

Everyone went silent as he closed his eyes.

Images of Will laying dead in front of him flashed through his mind. They were followed by El's body.

Mike opened his eyes and stumbled back, his hands shaking.

"I- I can't do it." He said, his voice shaking. He crouched in the corner of the room and held his head.

Mike felt the concerned eyes of his friends on him.

He clutched his hair and held his head in between his knees.

Mike tenses up as Nancy hugged him.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, hot tears in his eyes.

"Shh.." Nancy replied, running her hand through his hair.

Mike closed his eyes and fell into her, tiredness overflowing him.

He felt himself drift off, not realising how drained he was.

 **Aaandd now I have writers block. So sorry, I will try to update soon!**


	38. Chapter 38

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, I was really busy and then my writets block decided to stay for a flippin visit like no go away I wanna write. Annnyyway I hope you enjoy this chaoter and thank you for the reviews! :)**

 **Mike**

Mike awoke to muffled voices. He immediately felt the pain in his head and subconsciously lifted his hand to his temple. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

He was home.

Mike's eyes shot open as he looked around the basement. He fell off the couch as he tried to get up, tangled in blankets.

He pushed them off and sat back on the couch, his head swimming. He peered around the room, feeling a lightness in his chest.

Mike picked up a DD peice and stared at it.

It was the thessylhydra.

He cast it aside and noticed the dark red sky. Mike walked over to the window and stared in horror as the black clouds swirled around.

"We're not done yet.." he muttered.

Mike turned and quickly walked up the stairs. He opened the door and walked into the living room.

He was immediately met with a bone crushing hug from his mom.

"Mom..!" Mike gasped as he hugged her back.

"Oh my god.." Karen whsipered as she looked over her son.

"I cant believe what _they_ did.." Karen muttered as she stared at Mike.

She traced the bruises on his face, tears sparking her eyes.

Mike grabbed her hands and pulled them down, "Im okay mom..." He said.

Karen nodded and hugged him again, tears racking her body.

Holly waddled up and tugged on Mike's pant leg, "Mikey's back!" She cheered, lifting her arms up.

Mike laughed and picked her up.

"Hey holls." He said.

Holly stared at him, "Okay?" She asked, pointing to his face.

Mike nodded, "Okay." He answered, setting her back on the ground.

Mike looked around.

His friends were passed out all over the living room.

The teens were no where to be seen.

"Where's everyone else?" Mike asked.

"Nancy is helping Steve, Scott is with Jonathan, Hopper went to see Joyce and your father has gone out to help in the town." Karen answered as she sat in the rocking chair.

"What's dad doing?" Mike asked.

"The town is evacuating and they asked for help so he... went out and helped." She responded, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"He cant be out there!" Mike exclaimed.

"I know.. I know but he left before I could stop him." Karen said.

Mike furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fists.

He quietly walked over and nudged El awake.

She mumbled something before opening her eyes. Once she saw it was Mike she leaped up and hugged him.

"Youre awake." She whispered.

"Yeah.." Mike said.

El sensed the tension he had.

"What is it?" She asked, concern flooding her eyes.

"We need to stop this." Mike said as he pointed out the window.

El shook her head, "We cant.. we dont even know what it is or- or why its happening. Plus you just got back-" She objected.

"I dont care. We didnt know what the Upside Down was or how it came to be but we still faught it. We can do it again." Mike said, his face hot.

El was silent for a moment.

"I cant do nothing." Mike mumbled.

El stared at him, "I know that. You will do anything to help anyone.. Thats good to have right now.." El said as she looked out the window.

"So.. what do we do?" Mike asked.

"We need to get to my house." El said.

 **Nancy**

"Dont move." Nancy ordered Steve as she cleaned his shoulder.

Steve screwed up his face as she dabbed the washcloth on his wound.

"Do you have any more... pain killersss?" Steve asked, a little out of it.

"No more. You're already getting woozy and I need you to stay awake." Nancy said as she prepared for stitching.

"Boy are you lucky that Im studying for med school." Nancy muttered as she started stitching up the gash.

Steve chuckled, "Have I ever told you about my brother?" He asked.

"You mean the one who bullies my brother and his group of friends?" Nancy asked, not looking up from her work.

"Yeah.." Steve muttered.

"Rings a bell." She said.

"He wasnt always a dick." Steve said, his words blending together.

"Being a dick isnt exactly a learned trait." Nancy said.

"Yeah.. well he was nice.. and then all this shit with our parents happened and he took it real hard.." Steve said, not mentioning the word divorce.

"Most do." Nancy muttered.

"He puts on a face." Steve said.

"Huh?" Nancy asked as she finished up the stitching.

"When he goes to school. He acts like this mean, tough guy only because he's scared that he'll break if he acts... like he once was. He doesnt want to hurt anymore.." Steve seemed like he was talking to himself.

Nancy was silent as she finished cleaning his shoulder.

"I mean.. ive tried to help him but.. once he comes home he blocks me out.. blocks our mom out.." Steve sniffed.

Nancy quietly wrapped up his shoulder, her face hot.

"Im sorry for what he does to your brother... if it makes you feel better he comes home and... cries.. I think.. he beats himself up.." Steve muttered.

Nancy slammed down the guase, "Why the hell would that make me feel better? He's obviously struggling with something that no kid should go through and even if he's taking it out on my brother, he's not doing anyhing to _me_. He needs _help_." Nancy yelled, tears sparking his eyes.

Steve stared at her.

"Sorry." He whispered.

She wiped her face, "Its fine.. I guess you needed to talk about it..." She muttered as she finished wrapping his shoulder.

"Nancy." Steve said.

She looked up at him.

"I know that Troy hasn't experienced anything like Mike... but I understand what it's like to see someone youre supposed to look out for.. and.. protect.. be so hurt and damaged." He said.

Nancy leaned forward and kissed him. Hard.

Steve stared at her in shock, "Wha.." he choked out.

Nancy gave a small grin, "I love you." She said, looking down at her hands.

"I love you too.." Steve whispered.

Nancy looked up at him, "You know... I know of a certain therapist who could help your brother." She said.

Steve laughed, "Lets just say that we get through this..." He said, cutting off as he stared into her eyes.

She was calm.

Really calm.

It's strange how much people can change. A couple years ago she would've been loosing her shit if this was happening. But now.. He could tell that she was ready for whatever happened next.

Or so he thought.

 **Mike**

The car ride to the Byers House was silent. All that was heard was the low rumbling of thunder that kept growing closer.

"We don't have a lot of time.." Mike said as he peered out the window.

Scott pressed hard on the gas as they sped down the empty street.

They had left Jonathan and Steve with Nancy and Karen so that they'd be safer, the missing parts of the group were obvious.

Scott pulled into the drive way and skidded to a hault.

Mike rushed out of the car and yanked the front door open.

His breath caught in his throat.

The house was a mess. Furniture was thrown across the room, cabinets were ripped off the walls, windows were smashed and the wallpaper was shredded.

El came up behind him and gasped.

"Mom? Will?" She called as she ran through the house.

Mike followed her, his heart racing.

They found Joyce knocked out in the bathroom. She had a forming bump in her head.

Mike swallowed hard as he caught sight of the slugs in the sink.

El kneeled down beside Joyce.

"Mom?" She asked quietly.

Mike jumped as Hopper busted though the door. His face fell as he saw Joyce. He silently went forward and picked her up. He gently layer her on the couch.

"Get her some ice." He told El, his voice shaky.

El raced over to the knocked over fridge and pulled out an ice pack.

She gently placed it over the bump on her mothers head.

Everyone crowded around the couch and looked around the destroyed house.

Mike silently went to the back where he found a giant hole in the wall. He stepped through it.

"Will!" He called.

Nothing.

El came up behind him and grabbed his hand.

"We'll find him.." she whispered, looking into the trees.

Mike grimaced as pain shot through his head.

"You okay?" El asked, her voice thick with concern.

"We need to go... now." He said, walking back into the house.

He didn't know how to stop this. He didn't know where his friend was. He certainly didn't know how long he could stay in control. But mike did know that he was going to fight. He was going to save his friends and figure out how to stop this. And in all honesty... he was terrified.

He wasn't scared of the storm. He wasn't scared of the monsters. He was scared that the people he cared about would get hurt. And he was terrified that he would be the one to hurt them.

 **Yep. This is gonna get you right in the feels real hard... just sayin.**


	39. Chapter 39

**Hey guys! So all I have to say is thank you so frickin much for your reviews and I hope you get slapped in the face with the feels like me :)**

 **But seriously I'm so glad that you're all still reading and I hope you stay tuned for the sequel.**

 **Will**

Will raced through the forest. His body ached after transforming back to normal and his head throbbed uncontrollably. He didn't know what he did or how he turned, all he knew was that he was running from something. He prayed that he didn't hurt anyone.

Will didn't even know if any of his friends were safe or if they got back from the lab. All he knew was that he had to keep running. The fear was overwhelming.

He stopped abruptly, catching his breath. He leaned against a tree and tried not to stare at the dark red sky. Will focused on his torn clothes and shaking his hands. He wanted more than anything for things to go back to normal. He wanted to play DD, go to school and have a normal life. He didn't want to constantly have to hide things and live in fear.

The realisation that things would never go back to normal made him break.

Will slid down the tree and pulled his knees to his chest. He hid his head and cried uncontrollably. Everything he's been through was overtaking him and he couldn't stop it. All he could do was cry and wish for it to end.

Thunder made him jump and look up.

 _Willlll..._

Will turned as he heard his name, "Hello?" He asked, his voice shaking.

 _Willlllll..._

He stood up and looked around, "Whose there?" He called, his heart racing.

 _Upside down.._

"Who are you?" Will cried.

 _I'm an enemy..._

"What do you want?" Will asked, terror running though him.

 _Revenge..._

"Revenge.. f- for what?" Will asked.

 _You came to my world... all of you... now I come to yours..._

"Who are you?!" Will cried.

Suddenly a dark form appeared in front of him. It loomed over him, its hot breath on his face.

 _I'm you._

 **Mike**

Mike raced through the forest, calling his friends name.

A small part of hope fell away from him every time Will didn't answer.

"Will!" He yelled, turning around in circles as he scanned the dark trees.

"Please, Will!" He cried, worry overwhelming him.

Mike stumbled forward as he felt the pain in his head increase. A wave of nausea over took him as he held on to the tree for support.

He immediately felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" El asked, her voice thick with concern.

"I can't..." Mike muttered as he clutched his head.

El's heart dropped, "Yes you can.. you're stronger than him... stronger than me and we need you.. please Mike." She said.

Mike looked at her, "...I'll try...but if I tell you to get away from me... please do it." He said, his voice cracking.

El nodded, tears in her eyes.

"Promise me.." Mike said.

"I promise." El answered, her voice barely a whisper.

A distant screech made them jump.

Mike turned as he heard the others yelling for Will.

"Come on." Mike said as he took El's hand and lead her forward.

"Will!" Dustin called as he came up next to Mike.

"Will, we're here to help you!" Lucas yelled as he followed, his hands twitching.

 _Mike..._

Mike turned as he heard his name.

 _Michael_...

"Hello?" Mike asked as he stopped, looking around.

El stared at him, along with the other kids.

"Mike?" She asked.

 _Michael_...

"Whose there?!" Mike called out.

"Who are you talking to?" Max asked.

Mike shook his head, "Something is saying my name.." He answered, utterly confused.

 _Upside Down._..

Mike went frigid, "what?" He asked quietly.

 _My world is coming to yours... and you will pay..._

Mike tried to swallow the lump in his throat, "w- why.. why is this happening?" He asked.

His friends stared at him, concern and confusion flooding their faces.

 _You don't deserve to know.._

Mike screamed as a large, shadowy figure appeared in front of him. It loomed over him and he gasped as its long fingers wrapped around his throat.

"Mike what-" El started but broke off with a scream as Mike was thrown across the forest and into a large tree.

He heard a crack as he smacked into the wood and fell to the ground.

Mike tried to catch his breath as his friends starting running towards him, yelling his name.

The shadow beat them to it and lifted Mike off the ground by his neck. Mike desperately tried to grasp at it but it was like battling air.

"MIKE!" El cried as she stared at him, thrashing in the air.

"Holy shit!" Dustin screamed as he caught sight of what was happening.

"Why are you doing this?!" Mike cried as he struggled for air.

He saw the creatures white, pointy teeth as it cracked a grin.

 _Im getting my revenge_...

It suddenly threw Mike down to the ground.

He hit the earth with a loud crack and saw stars as pain shot through his body.

Mike got the air knocked out of him and struggled to breathe as his friends crowded around him. Their voices merged together in a low hum as he dully looked around.

"Mike!" El cried as she cupped his face.

He slowly lifted one of his hands and grabbed her wrist, his face etched in pain.

"Wh- what was that?" Dustin asked as he looked around wildly.

Mike squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to process what just happened.

"It... was a monster... from the Upside- Down... and I- it wanted.. revenge..." Mike grunted as he slowly sat up.

He held his head as a wave of pain flooded over him. He couldn't remember the last time he didn't hurt constantly.

"Why... why would it want revenge?" Lucas asked.

"It... it said that we... came to its world... s-so it's going to bring- his world... here." Mike answered slowly, wincing in pain.

The group grew silent as they stared at each other.

"H-how do we stop it..?" El asked quietly.

Mike stared at his scratched hands, "We kill it.." he answered.

Hopper and Scott ran over.

"Oh my god I though we lost you g- What happened?" Scott asked as she caught sight of the kids.

Lucas quickly explained, his voice wavering.

The adults sat in shock as he spoke.

"Shit..." Hopper said, his hands covering his face.

 _watch out for your little friend_...

Mike jumped as he heard the voice again.

"What is it?" El asked, holding his hand.

"We need to find Will... I think it did something to him." Mike said.

Lucas and El helped Mike to his feet slowly.

"Can you walk?" El asked.

"Sort of.." Mike answered as he limped forward a little before stumbling.

El and Lucas quickly supported him as they began searching for Will.

Every time Mike looked up at the sky, he saw the shadow, taunting him. So instead, he studied the ground.

He was watching his feet when he felt an intense amount of pain.

He quickly pulled away from El and Lucas. He fell to the ground as he stumbled back.

"Mike?" El asked.

"Go." Mike said, tears sparking his eyes.

"What? No we can't-" Lucas started as the others objected as well.

"We have to." El stopped them, her voice cracking.

"But el-" Dustin began.

"Look at him!" El yelled, pointing at Mike.

"He is _terrified_ of hurting us! Can't you see that! He knows what he's capable of doing when Peters controls him and he wants more than anything to stay away from us when he's being controlled... we need to do this for him.." El said, tears rolling down her face.

Mike looked at his friends stunned faces, "please.." he whispered.

Lucas immediately came forward and hugged Mike, followed by Max and Dustin.

Their group hug was brief but meaningful.

"We love you man.." Lucas said, wiping his eyes with back of his hand.

Mike gave them a sad smile.

El came up to him and kissed him.

"I love you." She whispered before getting up.

"I love you too... now go find Will- and hurry." Mike said as his tears stopped.

As he watched them walk away Mike got a new wave of bravery. He was going to stop that son of a bitch and save his friends, no matter what.

That was his last thought before Peters took control of him.

 **El**

El sprinted along her friends as they rushed through the forest, calling for Will. Her heart broke as she heard Mikes distant scream.

"Will!" She yelled, her heart drumming in her ears.

"There!" Scott exclaimed, pointing at something.

El rushed forward and picked up Wills torn flannel.

She closed her eyes as she traced him.

"He's not far." She said.

El tied the flannel around her waist as the group ran forward.

"Shhh." El warned as they slowed down and approached the quarry.

She stopped at the edge of the forest as she saw Will pacing near the cliff. He was no longer himself, but a large, dark and slimy monster. He had a large shadow hanging over him that sent chills through El's body.

"Addy..." El said, remembering how she can change him back.

"Distract him." She said as she slipped back into the woods.

El ran out into the middle of the road and called Wills name.

He snapped his head toward her and shrieked. He slowly walked forward, bearing his blackened teeth.

"Will... listen to me. I know you're in there and I know that you are strong... you can fight this.. please." El said, holding her hands out a little.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Scott approach Will as he focused on El.

"You are Will Byers. A sweet, talented and special kid who deserves so much better than what he's getting. You are an amazing best friend and a great brother. And no matter what happens or what you do... that will never change." El said as Will came closer.

As she finished he stopped and stared at her. For a moment he looked like a lost puppy, small, weak and confused.

El went silent as Scott touched his temple. Will went frigid as his body began to shake and Black fog came out of his mouth and floated up to the sky. The shadow thrashed around and shrieked as it was swallowed up by the fog. Will fell to his knees as he transformed and El ran forward and hugged his shaking form.

El held him tightly as she felt him go back to normal.

His body shook with tears after he fully transformed back.

"Will.." El sighed in relief.

"Byers!" Dustin exclaimed as he ran forward and embraced his friend along with max and Lucas.

The friends surround Will in a group hug.

"Thank you.." Will whispered as he sunk to the ground in relief.

A loud crack of the thunder made them jump and break apart.

Will looked around and felt his heart drop.

"Where's Mike?" He asked, terrified to know the answer.

The kids stared at him, sadness etched into their expressions.

"We had to leave him... because he was getting controlled... he wanted us too.." El choked out the answer.

Wills face fell.

He looked up at the Sky and saw the familiar dark shadow float across it.

"We are ending this. Tonight." He said.

Will stood up and looked at his friends. He gained a newfound strength as he realised that he was going to fight this battle with the greatest people he knew. And he believed that they were going to win.

 **Holy bajesus**.


	40. Chapter 40

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, I've had really had really bad writers block and I didn't want to write anything because I knew that it would be bad and these are some important chapters so I didn't want to mess them up! So, I hope you enjoy this and thank you for the reviews!**

 **Will**

Will looked at the window of the moving car as the group drove to the centre of the town. When he was transformed, all he could see were visions of the town square in ruins. He saw people screaming and running from a large monster. In the visions he was relieved to find out that the monster wasn't him.

Will tapped his fingers on his knees as they grew closer to their destination.

He could feel the tension in the air, escpecially from El, who was sitting next to him. She was staring at nothing in particular and had tear stains on her cheeks.

It looked like the group had just come back from a failed night out, not that they were going to go fight some inter dimensional monsters.

"We're here." Hopper said as he parked his car in front of the library.

Will got out and shuddered, remembering how the Demogorgan kept its prey in the Upside Down version of the library.

"What buildings did you see in your vision?" Scott asked.

"The library... The school, arcade, police station and... Mike's house." Will answered.

"W-why Mike's house?" Dustin asked quietly.

Will shook his head, "I don't know..."

"We whatever is coming.. we need to be ready." Hopper said as he loaded his gun.

Lucas jumped as a person ran passed him screaming.

"What the fff-" He stuttered.

"People are terrified.." El whispered.

"They're frickin ballistic." Dustin said as he wanted a guy run out of a store holding a TV over his head.

A familiar shriek made Will's heart skip a beat. He slowly turned his head and saw the multi headed monsters' out line against the dark, red sky.

"Thessylhydra." Dustin gasped.

"W-we barely made it last time.. ho-how are we going to kill it?" Lucas asked, his hands shaking.

"We are stronger and more prepared this time." Scott said as she opened the trunk.

She pulled out multiple large guns. They were black with glowing blue cut outs along the metal.

She handed one to Hopper, Dustin, Lucas, Will and Max.

"What are these?" Dustin asked as he admired the weapon.

"They're guns that will actually penetrate and harm the monsters. I made them my self and they have two settings." She said as she used Max's gun as a demonstration.

"One will allow you to keep shooting while the other allows a type of mega blast that will hurt the monster really bad." She explained quickly.

She also handed them all black, fingerless gloves.

"Stay behind me and don't use the second setting unless you have a clear shot of the big guy." Scott said.

Will stared at the glowing gun and gripped it tightly. His adrenaline rose as they ducked out of their hiding spot and into the full chaos. It seemed that the whole town was running around the streets. He screamed as a small monster skidded past him, growling.

He shot at it and gasped as it disintegrated.

He reloaded the gun and felt a wave of power flow over him.

 **El**

El ran forward and lifted a monster in the air and ripped it in half. Fury surged through her as she thought about all the pain the Upside Down has caused. How much she's caused. El screamed as she tore the monsters, her adrenaline pumping. Screams and cries filled her ears.

"Lookout!" Max screamed as she shoved El out of the way of what looked like a giant rattle snake.

Max and Lucas shot at it at the same time and El gasped as she saw it disintegrate into smoke.

A shriek made El whip her head around so fast her neck cracked. She saw the thessylhydra growing closer and felt her heart drop. Her knees gave out and she fell to the ground, shaking.

Scott ran forward and started talking to her but El could only hear a low, full hum.

Scott pulled her to her feet and helped her into an alley way. El saw her friends fighting the monsters, splattered with blood before Scott blocked her view of what was happening.

El looked at her and saw her lips moving, but she heard nothing.

"What?" El asked, her voice sounded distant.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked.

El shook her head and covered her ears, wishing the ringing would stop.

Scott pulled her into a hug and El felt her use her powers to fend off a monster.

The ringing stopped.

El looked up at Scott, "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Why?" Scott asked over the screams.

"I-I can't fight that-that _thing_ again. Last time it- it almost killed Mike and it hurt Lucas and D-Dustin and I'm- _terrified_ of it.." El stuttered, her breath coming out in short gasps.

"Hey.." Scott said, holding onto her shoulders, "listen to me. You are not alone.. we are all here and we are going to kill that thing.. we're going to _win_." Scott said.

El shook from head to toe, "Are you sure?" She asked.

Scott grinned, "absolutely not." She said as she ducked out of the alley way and ripped a monster that was running towards them apart.

El closed her eyes and breathed. She clenched her fists and ran back out.

El screamed as she killed the monsters attacking her home. She felt their blood splatter on her face but she didn't care. The screams pushed her forward and made her determined to save Hawkins.

She stopped, gasping for air as she saw the Thessylhydra approaching.

She felt Will appear at her side, along with the others. El felt ready and strong. Her breathing steadied as she realised one thing.

She was going to win. No matter what happened, they were going to win, and save this damn town. Because it was her home... and it is being invaded by unwanted things that are going to wish that they never even thought about coming here.

El held out her hand.

"No more." She muttered, staring at the monster.

She screamed as she pushed her power into bringing it down.

The others slowly stepped forward, loading their weapons. They yelled and fried at the monster, the dark blue blast making them stumble back.

El saw Scott next to her, holding her hands out. A yellow beam emitted from her palms and hit the monster, making it smoke.

El felt blood flow out of her ears and nose and her vision blurred hit she kept pushing. The monsters shrieked blended into their screams.

El fell to her knees. Her head swam as she focused on destroying it.

"Stop." Scott said abruptly, staring at something.

"Stop firing!" She screamed.

El let go and fell forward, breathing heavily.

She was furious.

"We could've killed it!" El yelled as she stumbled to her feet.

Scott shook her head and pointed forward.

El followed her gaze and felt her heart drop.

Mike was standing in front of the Thessylhydra. Blood dripped down the side of his face. His eyes were like soulless black pits and his hands twitched at his sides.

His head was tilted to the side along with a grin that didn't belong to him. He limped forward, dragging his leg slightly.

"Mike." El breathed.

 **God dammit, I have seriously bad writers block right now wtf..**


	41. Chapter 41

**Hey guys! I'm extremely sorry for the wait but I've been really busy with school and marching band. I also didn't have much motivation to physically write this chapter for some reason but lately I've been feeling better about it so here's a chapter that I've been thinking about! I also changed the ending to this story and I've been planning the sequel so stay tuned my dudes.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and please review ;)**

 **El**

El was frozen in place. Again.

All she could do was stare at Mike and realise over and over again that she didn't recognise him.

She stared at his visibly shaking hands and bloody face. She could tell that too much power was surging through him and it terrified her that she didn't know what to do.

"Mike?" Will asked.

"There is no Mike here right now." Peters said.

El felt her heart drop as she watched Peters emerge from the darkness. He stood next to Mike and El noticed a thick wire wrapped around Peters' head.

"What are you doing?" Scott asked, her voice shaking.

Peters twitched his fingers as Mike turned around and froze the Thessylhydra in place.

"How..?" Lucas gasped.

El stared in astonishment and horror.

"I'm completing my plan.." Peters said.

El stared at the deep, dark circles under his eyes and his clammy white skin.

 _This is killing him... both of them.._ she realised.

"Y- you need to stop... this is _killing_ you." El said, her heart racing.

Peters grinned and shook his head, "No.. this is helping me... helping everyone. As of right now," He motioned to the terrified people hiding throught out the square, "it seems chaotic. But soon you will see that these beasts _can_ be controlled. We can use them as weapons and we will be unstoppable. We won't need supernatural children, when we will have interdimensional beings. You'll see." His cold, crisp voice chilled El's bones.

"No.. I won't." El stated as she quickly raised her hand. She lifted up a large shard of broken glass and sent it flying towards Peters.

Without hesitation, Mike lifted his hand and caught it with the tips of his fingers.

El barely had time to react before it was sent back at her. It scraped alongside her arm as it flew past her.

El stared at Mike in shock as she held her bleeding arm.

Peters laughed, " _I_ wasn't even expecting that and I'm the one controlling him!"

El screamed at him and made a move to snap his neck but was sent flying backwards by an invisible blast.

She skidded across the street and crashed into a flipped over car. El's head spun as she attempted to sit up. She felt scratches and bruises everywhere and groaned as she saw that the cloth on her right shoulder was gone, revealing deep cuts from the road.

El turned her head as she heard screams. She saw hiding in shops and behind cars.

"You need to get out of here!" She yelled.

Will ran over to her, "Are you okay?" He asked as he quickly helped her to her feet.

El nodded as she winced at the pain in her shoulder.

"This isn't good." She muttered, hot tears in her eyes as she looked at all the towns people.

Will opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a scream.

El whipped her head around so she could see what was happening and gasped.

Max was dangling upside down in mid air. Her arms flailed as she was held up by Mike.

El and Will ran over to the group and stared up at Max.

"Let her go!! She didn't do anything!" El screamed as she watched her friend thrash around.

"That's the fun part!" Peters yelled back.

Max screamed as she flew higher. She covered her eyes and cried out.

"No!" Lucas yelled.

"Let me go, _Please_!" Max cried.

Peters cracked a grin, "Okay." He said.

Max screamed as she fell to the ground. El yelled out and stopped her a couple feet above the ground.

Lucas rushed over and caught her, his face flushed.

Max clinged to him and buried her head in his shoulder, "I hate heights.." she sobbed into his shoulder.

"It's okay.." Lucas said as he stroked her hair.

"Get her out of here." Hopper said to Lucas and Dustin.

The two nodded and helped Max get away.

El focused her attention back to Peters who was laughing hysterically.

"You guys are too much." He said.

"Stop it." El muttered.

"Do what now?" Peters asked, grinning.

"Stop _this_. I don't know if you've realised this but these are _people._ Living, breathing people with minds and families. They are human beings and _you_ are taking advantage of them like they're animals.This isn't a game. You are laughing over the fact that youre hurting people. This is a _real_ town that does not need phsycopaths like you doing all this insane shit! You _need_ to stop because wether you like it or not, things will get out of control and you _will_ loose." El said to him, her voice growing louder with every word.

Peters stared at her.

"He's already lost.." Scott muttered, glaring at her father.

Peters opened his mouth slightly and then closed it again. El saw regret flash across his face before a grin destroyed any remnant of the good in him.

"You have to loose to win." Was all he said.

Mike turned around and unfroze the monster.

It shrieked as it continued its reign of terror.

"No.." El gasped as she watched it set the library on fire. Screams filled the air as people hysterically ran out, seeking shelter.

Hopper screamed as he shot the gun at the monster, along with Will.

El noticed Mike and Peters slipping away and signaled for Scott to follow her.

They followed them down an alley way and into an open road by the theatre. Scott cut away from El so she could stop them from the other side of the street.

"Stop." El said as she held her hand out.

Peters turned and looked at her, "What are you honestly planning on doing? You can't hurt me unless you hurt _him_ and I know you won't do that. And if you hurt m-" Peters cut off with a scream as Scott jumped on his back and shoved a thin pipe into his shoulder. He screamed in pain and groped at his arm.

Scott punched him in the face and kicked him to the ground.

El heard a blood curdling scream and turned to see it coming from Mike. He held his head and fell to his knees, his screams were almost inhuman.

"No!" El cried as she ran over to him. She grasped his shoulders and tried to see his face but his grip on his head was to immense.

"What's happening to him?" Scott asked as she kneeled next to him, panic in her eyes.

"If I get hurt- he gets- hurt." Peters gasped as he flailed on the ground.

"Tell me how to help him." Scott demanded as she held a piece of glass up to Peters throat.

Peters let out a watery laugh, blood bubbling out of his mouth.

"He's as good as dead n-"

He never finished. El snapped his neck, her complete focus on Mike as tears stung her eyes.

Scott stared in shock at Peters and then back at El.

"He's... _dead_." She whispered. Scott stared at El and then at Mike.

El gripped tightly into Mikes shoulders as tears rolled down her face.

"Mike?" She asked, her voice hardly audible.

Mike made no response. He just gripped his head tighter and continued to shake and cry.

El slid her hand under his chin and lifted his face so that he was looking at her. His black eyes were flooded with tears and pain.

"I love you.." El whispered as she kissed him. She held onto his face with her hands and prayed that this would help him come back, somehow.

She pulled back and looked at him. El let out a small gasp as his eyes faded back to normal. Almost.

They were glazed over and gave off a grey tint. He made no response to her or anything around him.

"Mike?" El asked, her voice shaking.

He just stared blankly ahead.

"P- Peters is dead, why is he still in a trance? Whats happening to him?!" El asked, panic overthrowing her.

"El." Scott said suddenly, alarm in her voice.

El looked up at her and followed her gaze to the Thessylhydra.

It was at the other end of the street, staring at them.

El's heart dropped. She quickly stood up, bringing Mike with her.

El whipped around as she heard her name being called.

Will, Dustin, Max, Lucas and Hopper were running over to them.

"No.." El breathed.

"Oh my god!" Lucas exclaimed as he caught sight of the scene.

"What-" Dustin asked, staring at Mike.

El just shook her head and turned to face the monster. It was just standing there, staring.

"What is it doing?" Max asked.

"It's... gathering its surrounding. It's not used to this world and it's kind of... taking everything in." Will said, staring at the monster.

El glanced sideways at Mike. He was staring dully at the Thessylhydra.

She looked forwards at it, "This ends now." She muttered.

El held her hand out and screamed as she attacked the monster. Scott followed her, along with the others.

El felt the heat coming off from the dark blue blasts and pushed harder.

Memories of when all of this began circled around her mind as she felt herself grow weaker. El stumbled forward onto her knees, her breathing heavy.

She thought about how a little over two years ago, all these kids lives were normal. They were safe. El screamed louder as she took the blame upon herself. She may not have wanted to hurt anyone, but shes still the one that caused all this.

And she was going to finish it.

Their screams blended together with the shrieks of the monster and it caused them to push harder.

El felt like her head was going to explode but continued attacking it.

Will screamed and threw his gun down as it burned his hands. The others quickly did the same thing as the guns began to melt.

El watched Scott's beam flicker and then sizzle out as she fell to her knees, sweat dripping down her face.

Eleven cried as the edges of her vision grew black.

"El, stop!" Will yelled as he watched her lose herself. Dark veins spread across her face as blood came out of her ears and nose.

He grabbed her shoulders, "Stop!" He cried.

El gave out and fell into him, her breathing unsteady.

"We- we have to- kill.. it." She gasped as she took quick, raspy breaths.

Will stared at it and then back at El, "We can't.." he said, hot tears in his eyes.

"We _need_ to." El protested as she tried to sit up in her own.

"No, you need to re-" Will stopped mid sentence.

El followed his gaze and almost cried out.

Mike was standing in front of everyone, his dull eyes focused on the Thessylhydra.

"No, no, Mike!" El cried as she tried to get to him.

Mike pushed his hand back, which sent El skidding backwards.

The others tried to stop him but they were met with the same response as her.

Mike held them there as he stood his ground in front of them.

"Mike..?" El asked, terrified of what he was going to do.

"Mike, listen.. you cant do this!" Lucas begged as he watched the monster approach his friend.

"We cant stop him.." Will realised.

Mike held his hand out in front of him. It started shaking as he used his powers.

El watched in terror and astonishment as the monster began to shrink in size. It was a little bigger than the demogorgan when it stopped.

It shrieked at Mike as it thrashed its now shadowy hands towards him.

Mike himself didnt know what he was doing. After Peters died, he kind of shut down. His mind took his last thought and brought into action.

His last thought was of saving his friends because they meant more to him than anything.

He stared at the Thessylhydra, unaware of his friends constant begging for him to stop.

The love for the people behind him made him come back for a flicker of a second so he could say one last thing.

He turned around and looked at El, his eyes were back to normal.

"Im sorry." He said before looking back at the monster.

He let his hand fall limply to his side. The monster shrieked as it ran towards him, its long, twisted claw of a hand outstretched.

"NO!!" El screamed.

It stabbed Mike through the chest, its screams of pain filling the air.

They blended together with the cries of his friends as they watched Mike fall to his knees.

El ran towards him only to be thrown back by a blinding light.

Light emitted from Mike's chest, covering the town.

El closed her eyes and covered her ears as the Thessylhyrda's screams filled the air.

She cried along with it, the last thing she saw replaying over and over again in her head.

El felt the scream last forever. Her chest ached and she felt like her world was falling in as she felt nothing but the painful screams.

"El? El!" Will called to her, shaking her shoulders.

El opened her eyes and found Will kneeling next to her, tears painting his face.

That's when she broke.

Will pulled her into a hug as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Im sorry.. Im so sorry." She cried, her voice muffled by his shirt.

Will pulled back so he could see her face. He held onto her arms, "No.. El don't you ever apologize. _No one_ is blaiming you for this-" That's all he was able to say before his voice broke.

El just pressed her head against his chest, wishing that it was her and not him.

"Guys..?" Lucas said, his voice watery.

El looked up and followed his gaze.

The Thessylhydra had disappeared and for a second, El thought that Mike had too.

Then she saw him. He was laying on the ground, covered in dirt and blood.

"Mike!" El cried out as she ran over to him.

She skidded down to her knees and rolled him onto her lap.

The others followed her and surrounded him.

"Oh my god.." Dustin gasped, pointing to the hole in his shirt.

There was no blood. No mark. Nothing.

El leaned over Mike, cupping his face.

"Mike?" She asked.

The air went completely silent. Not even the wind blew as they waited for some sign that their friend was alive.

His eyes snapped open and he gasped for air. He grabbed at his chest, panic flooding through him.

His hand found El's wrist and he looked up at her.

Mike looked around and saw the faces of the people he loved.

He sighed and let his head fall back.

"Holy shit." Dustin said, his voice shaking.

Mike let out a small laugh, relief overthrowing him.

He sat up and hugged El.

She laughed as well, tears rolling down her face.

"Oh my god." She whispered as she hugged him back.

The others hugged them, forming a tight group hug that started with everyone speechless in relief and ended with them laughing at the fact that they just defeated an inter dimesional monster.

"That was the most terrifying thing I've ever done." Mikd said as they pulled apart.

The others nodded in agreement.

Mike looked around at the town and guilt washed over his face, "What happened?" he asked as El helped him up.

"The thessylhydra came to this world and... did this." El answered, her voice shaking.

Mike looked around.

"Is it gone?" He asked.

El nodded.

"And its never coming back.." Lucas said, patting Mike on the shoulder.

"Lets hope so.." Mike said.

He began walking forward, taking in the destruction of the town.

He looked at the ground and stopped dead in his tracks.

He was staring at Peters body.

He was staring at the dead body of the man who ruined so many lives and hurt countless people. This man caused so much pain upon so many and the fact that he was laying dead right in front of Mike made him feel... nothing.

He felt nothing.

Mike's face grew hot.

El walked up next to Mike and enterlaced her fingers with his.

"You okay?" She asked quietly.

Mike nodded, "You know... even though I hated him... I never really wanted him to die." Mike said.

El cupped his face with her hands and turned him towards her.

"That is what makes you better than _so_ many. You can know people who do horrible things but you never wish death upon them. You're kind and good hearted and you're an incredible person." El said as she kissed him on the cheek.

Mike held onto her wrists and stared at her, "I love you." He said.

El smiled, "I love you too."

 **Okay this _actually_ took me a week to write, like wat? Annnyywwaayy I hope you enjoyed this and sorry for my typos, my spell check doesn't work so that's Great.**

 **Bye loves *Insert peace sign***


	42. Chapter 42

**Hey guys! So apparently I freaked some of you out with the last chapter and your reviews made me happy because your reactions were PERFECT!! I love reading them and I'm so happy that you guys are reading this :D** **ALSO SEASON 2 IS GREAT AND IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT WAT ARE U DOIN?? it's literally the best thing and also so sorry for the wait, ive been supppeerr busy!!**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapteeerr**

Mike looked up at the Sky. It was still red. A cold feeling ran up is spine.

"Shouldn't it be going back to normal now?" He asked.

El shrugged, "I don't know if it ever will.."

Mike was silent for a moment and then looked around. The others were putting the melted guns back into Scott's trunk as they quietly talked to one another.

The calmness and quiet in the air let off an eery feeling. He had expected everything to be chaotic but it was all so still and calm. It was if this wasn't real.

Mike's eyes wandered to the different buildings around the square. He could see the scared people peeking out from their hiding spots.

"We should get these people out of here." He said loudly.

El nodded but then her eyes widened, "We should fix _that_ first.." She said quickly, pointing at the library.

Mike realised that the fire was quickly growing and rushed over so he was standing in front of it.

El came up next to him.

"W- what do we do?" Mike asked.

Scott came over, "We can make the flames die down by creating an invisible force that will basically kill the fire." She hastily explained as she held out her hand.

Mike hesitantly put his up as well.

"Just focus on putting out the fire." El said.

Mike nodded and studied the flames. He found that the source was on the right side of the building so he focused there.

His hand twitched slightly as he pushed back the flames. He felt the heat of it swirl through his hand as he brought down the fire.

Mike watched in astonishment as the fire sizzled out, leaving nothing but smoke. He breathed out in relief, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"You okay?" El asked, holding on to his arm.

Mike nodded, "We need to check if there's people in there." He said, motioning to the library.

El nodded.

Mike walked over to the others, "Okay, we need to focus on getting everyone out of here right now and then we can deal with _that_." He explained, pointing at the Sky.

They nodded and split up.

Hopper and Scott went to the post office as Max, Lucas and Dustin went over to the store. Mike, El and Will headed into the library.

"Careful." Mike said as they walked in.

He looked around in shock as he saw all the burnt, crumpled bookcases and shattered glass.

"Hello?" Mike called.

"Is anybody in here??" Will yelled as he headed towards the stairs.

A muffled cry for help broke through the air.

"They're upstairs." Will said.

"There's no way we can get up there without the floor giving out." Mike said, running his hands through his hair.

"I'll stay down here and support the floor as you guys go help those people." El said.

Mike stared at her, "Are you sure?" He asked, still worried that she might be drained.

El nodded, "Go." She said.

Mike squeezed her hand and then followed Will up the creaky stair case.

"Where are you?" Mike called as they reached the second level.

"Near the back wall, please hurry- I- I need your help!!" The voice cried back.

"We're coming!" Mike responded.

"That voice sounds familiar, right?" Will asked as they gingerly walked through the library.

Mike shrugged as he slowly crawled over a knocked over bookcase.

"I'm getting real uneasy from th-" Mike began and then cut off with a scream as the floor gave out underneath him.

He fell through and then was suspended in the air by El. She slowly brought him back up to the second story, sweat dripping down her face.

"Thanks!" Mike called down to her, his voice shakey. He stumbled a little as he hit the ground and tried to control his breathing.

"Be careful!!" Will said to him as they continued down the aisles.

Soon soot and dirt covered their hands and faces and the smokey air hurt their throats. They continued to crawl through the knocked over bookcases and caved in debre.

They reached the back wall after what seemed like forever and were shocked to find no one.

"What... Hello?" Mike called, his voice hoarse.

"Over here!" A female voice answered them.

"This way." Will said, quickly heading to the right.

"Will slow down! Will!" Mike called.

Will continued to head through the maze of bookshelves, calling for the lost people.

Mike heard a loud creak and looked up to see large pieces of the ceiling breaking off from the roof.

"Look out!" He yelled as he attempted to stop it.

The weight of it caught him off balance and he accidentally sent the burnt debre off to the side.

"Shit." Mike muttered.

A loud crash came from across the room followed by a painful scream.

"No!" Will yelled as he rushed towards the screams.

Mike followed him, a burning in his chest.

The closer they got to the person the more painful their cries became.

Will rounded the corner and skidded to a hault.

Mike stopped next to him and gasped.

The debre had landed on someone who seemed to be unconscious. The source of the screams were coming from a boy hunched over the body.

He was sobbing and grabbing at the persons shoulders.

Will ran his hands through his hair, his eyes wide.

Mike quietly walked over and crouched next to the person.

He didn't know what to do so he just softy placed his hand on his shoulder.

The boy jumped back and stare at Mike, tears staining his face. They mixed with the soot and blood, making him unrecognisable.

The moment he saw Mike anger flashed in his eyes as he lunged towards him, grabbing his shirt collar.

"This is _your_ fault! _You're_ the reason she's dead! You and your friends!!" He cried as he shook Mike.

Mike grabbed his wrists and pushed his hands off of him. He held on to them and stared at him, guilt in his eyes.

The boy went frigid and then crumpled to the ground, covering his face.

"I'm sorry.. I didn't.. I-" He sobbed as he buried his head in his hands.

Will kneeled in front of him and patted him on the shoulder.

"You don't have to be sorry..." He said quietly.

The boy shook uncontrollably but eventually looked up at Will.

"But I _am_. I-I've done so many bad things but to blame y-you guys for _this_... That's h-horrible." He said, his voice hoarse.

That's when Will recognised him. He was surprised and different emotions fueled inside of him.

"Troy?" Will asked.

Troy gave a slight nod, biting his lip.

Mike stared at him in shock, "What are you doing here??" He asked.

"I was... I was reading.. and then... we were to scared to leave so we hid here..." Troy answered hesitantly.

Will nodded and then glanced at the body under the debre, "W-who's that?" He asked quietly.

"My mom." Tory answered, his voice barely a whisper.

Mike gasped, guilt boiling up inside him.

He stood up and held his hands over the rubble. He slowly brought it up forward, his hands shaking under the weight.

Mike moved it off the body and then gingerly placed it down.

He then kneeled next to the woman and checked her pulse.

"H-how did you..?" Troy asked, going into shock.

Mike let Will explain as he waited for some sign of life.

Nothing.

She was as cold as ice and Mike couldn't find the source of the damage.

"What are you doing?" Troy asked suddenly.

"I'm... trying to help her.." He answered, holding his hands over her.

He closed his eyes and focused. He felt the heat from his hands as he tried to heal her.

The heat quickly died down and Mike opened his eyes in surprise.

He looked at his hands and found that they were blistered and bloody.

"What..?" He gasped.

Will caught sight of his hands and his eyes widened, "W-what happened??" He asked, panic rising in his voice.

Mike's hands shook as he stared at them, "I.. I don't know.. they were fine a moment ago.." He said.

"Do you think it's because of what happened?" Will asked, trying not to directly mention how Mike killed the Thessylhydra.

Mike shrugged, his throat growing tight. He felt hot tears in his eyes, "I- I can't help her.." He said, standing up and backing away.

Troy let out a muffled cry as he stared at the ground.

Mike's gut filled with guilt, "Troy... I'm sorry... this is my fault and I-"

"No." Will interrupted him, standing up as well, "Mike, this isn't your fault.. Peters was controlling you and you _never_ wanted _any of this_ to happen!" Will said, his face growing hot.

Mike felt tears escape his eyes, "I'm still the one who did it.. I couldn't stop him and now.. I've hurt so many people... I just.. I can't keep doing this!" Mike said, turning to leave.

"Mike, wait." Troy said, standing up and walking over to him.

Mike turned and looked at him. For once he didn't see the smug look on his face or the mean glare in his eyes... instead he saw the real Troy. He looked concerned and upset and you could see that he was broken.

"Look... I.. I know that you are literally the nicest and one of the best people out there.. and you _can't_ blame yourself for this.. You're scared and.. and you feel guilty.. but you can't walk away from this and block yourself out from everybody.. Trust me, it doesn't help.." Troy's voice broke and he paused for a second, taking a deep breath, "If anything.. it makes it worse because.. Y-you're left alone with your thoughts and then you can just let your mind wander and you think of all the things you could've done to help.. but you just didn't.. because you're scared... You're overwhelmed.. and you feel alone. And I know that I don't know what you've been through and that it was worse than what I've experinced... but, I understand what it's like to feel like _you're_ the one causing pain and that y-you can't do anything about it.. and I.." Troy broke off, tears falling down his face. He covered his mouth as he let out a cry.

Mike pulled him into a hug, tears piercing his eyes.

Troy gripped his shirt and cried into his shoulder, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry.." He whimpered, his voice muffled by Mike's shirt.

Will came in and hugged both of them.

A loud crack of thunder made them all jump and break apart. The thunder was quickly followed by an insanely loud downpour.

Mike rushed over to the window and gasped.

A large, dark red storm cloud had begun swirling around in the distance. The rain poured down harder and made it impossible for Mike to see.

"We have to go!" Mike said loudly over the rain.

"But-" Troy said, glancing at his mom.

"We'll come back, but right now we need to go!" Will said as he grabbed Troy's hand and followed Mike down the stairs.

As soon as El saw them she let out a breath of relief. Confusion crossed over her face as she noticed Troy but Mike just gently touched her temple and explained everything to her.

"Oh..." She whispered.

She reached out and grabbed Mike's wrists so she could see his hands. Her eyes widened with concern as she looked at Mike. He opened his mouth to say something but the others suddenly burst through the doors and slammed them shut behind them.

They were all soaking wet and shaking.

"What's happening out there??" El asked.

"There's an open gate and I think it's bringing the Upside Down.. here." Scott explained quickly.

El looked at Mike, "Where's the gate?" She asked.

Mike stared at her, fear crossing his face, "I didn't open a gate.." He said.

Silence crossed over the room.

"What?" El asked.

"I _didn't_ open a gate.. everytime Peter's tried to make me I cut him off.." Mike said, panic rising in hia voice.

"Then.. how is there a gate... and where?" Lucas asked.

Will was silent and then looked at Mike, "It's at your house." He said.

Mike looked at him, "What?"

"I.. I saw all these locations in a-a vision I had like the town square an-and the burning library and I also saw _your_ house." Will said.

Mike ran his hands through his hair, "Everybody's hiding there." He said hysterically.

"Shit.." Dustin said.

"Whose everybody?" Troy asked.

Lucas, Dustin and Max looked at him immediately.

Mike let El explain to them why he was there as he told Troy that Karen, Nancy, Holly, Jonathan and Steve were at his house.

"Why is Steve there?" Troy asked, panic in his eyes.

Mike just touched his temple so he could quickly understand _everything_ that has happened.

Troy's eyes widened, "Oh my god..." He said, his voice barely a whisper.

Mike just shrugged and then quickly grabbed the others attention, "We _need_ to get to my house _now_." Mike said as he ran out the door.

The others followed him and they quickly piled into Scott's and Hooper's cars.

They broke about seven different speed limits as they raced to the Wheeler's residence.

The ran had subsided to a quiet shower and as they neared Mike's house, Mike notice that the red storm cloud was directly above his home.

As soon as the car reached the drive way, Mike jumped out and ran to the door. He was met with it opening as his mom came out carrying Holly. She was followed by Nancy, Jonathan and Steve.

As soon as Karen caught sight of her son she immediately pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

"Oh my god, Michael!" She exclaimed as she looked him over. Her hand found the hole in his shirt from the Thessylhyrda and she looked at him, concern in her eyes.

Mike just squeezed her hand before turning towards the others.

"Is everyone here?" Mike asked, scanning the group.

"Troy??" Steve exclaimed as he found his brother.

Troy ran over to him and hugged him, burying his face in his chest.

Steve looked taken aback but immediately held on to him.

Mike looked up at the sky and noticed that it was darker and started moving faster.

"Nancy," Mike said, getting his sister's attention, "Did you see anything in the house?" He asked.

"We heard a crash from the basement which caused us to run out here but that's all." She answered.

 _Shit_. Mike thought.

He turned and started heading into his house but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Mike turned to see El standing behind him, "What are you doing?" She asked.

Mike frowned, "I have to close the gate.. if we leave it open, I don't know what will happen and it might stop whatever _that_ is if we close it." Mike said, pointing towards the sky.

El motioned for Will to come over.

"We have to close the gate.. stay out here and make sure everybody is safe." El said.

Will opened his mouth to object but just simply nodded instead, "Be careful.. please." He said.

El nodded and then quickly followed Mike into the house.

Mike raced over to the basement door and skidded to a halt as the door flung off and crashed into the wall.

"Holy shit!" Mike yelled.

He grabbed El's hand and hesitantly walked down the staircase.

They were immediately hit with a strong wind and a loud noise.

Mike reached the bottom of the stairs and found that the gate was coming from El's den.

"How did that get there??" El yelled over the noise.

"I don't know... can the Upside Down even open a gate by itself?" Mike responded.

"Not unless there's a monster-" El's eyes widened.

"You don't think.." Mike said.

El shook her head, "Let's just focus on closing the gate!"

Mike nodded and slowly brought his hand up, followed by El.

Mike gripped El's free hand with his as he focused on the gate.

He screamed as he felt the power surging through him and into closing the gate. El's grip on his hand tightened as their screams blended together.

Mike felt blood flow out of his ears and nose but kept pushing as the gate shrunk. He could feel the veins running along his head and ignored the pulsing in his ears.

El fell to her knees, sweat dripping down her face.

Mike stumbled forward but remained standing.

Inhumane screams escaped the gate as they closed it.

Mike stopped screaming as the gate grew smaller. The edges of his vision blackened as the gate closed, leaving a black mark on the ground.

Mike fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

El squeezed his hand as they lay on the ground catching their breath.

"We did it.." She whispered, her eyes half open.

Mike nodded, to drained to speak.

 _Michael_...

Mike shot up, his eyes wide.

"No, no no." He said, looking around wildly.

"What is it?" El asked as she attempted to sit up.

 _You thought that you could get rid of me that easily?_

Mike's throat went dry, "I.. I killed you.. how..?" He stuttered.

"Who are you talking to?" El asked, growing concerned.

 _No... you killed one of my minions.. I'm rather difficult to get rid of actually.._

"No.. no.. I killed _you_ , I KILLED _YOU_!" Mike yelled, hit tears stinging his eyes.

 _You only thought you did.. Many have tried to kill me.. and many have failed.. just like you._

Mike kneeled close to the ground and covered his ears, "No no no no.. no you're just in my head.. you're just in my head.." He whimpered.

The dark figure came close to him, it's hot breath ruffling his hair.

 _I'm not real? Well then explain this._

The shadow swirled around him, covering him in darkness. It screamed as it enveloped Mike in the thick smoke. Mike screamed along with it, his entire body shaking.

"Mike?!"

Mike's eyes snapped opened and he gasped as he realized he was outside, his friends surrounding him.

"What..?" He stuttered, looking around in shock.

 _Is THIS real enough for you?_

The figure appeared in front of Mike, holding El up by her neck.

Mike's heart dropped, horror flooding through him, "NO!" He cried.

The creature smiled, revealing it's long, pointy teeth.

El stared at him, her eyes filled with fear and tears.

Mike's hands shook, "P-please.. please let her go.. I'll do whatever you want just.. please.. don't hurt her.." Mike begged, stepping towards it with his hands up in surrender.

The shadows' smile disappeared, _I don't give in to pathetic humans like you.._

It shrieked as it drove it's long, shadow of a hand through El's chest.

"NO!!!" Mike screamed as he watched her fall to the ground. He ran forward to grab her but black smoke covered her.

Mike fell to his knees, thrashing through the smoke, only to find that El waa gone.

Heavy tears blurred his vision as he looked up at the monster.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" He cried, his voice cracking.

The creature just smiled and moved on to its next victim.

It grabbed a hold of Will, making him scream.

 _I am going to make this as real for you as possible._ It sneered as it snapped Will's neck.

"NO!! STOP! STOP!!" Mike screamed, sobs racking his body. His knees gave out as he tried to stand.

 _I am not going to stop until you understand that you can **never**_ _defeat me. I am everything._

An invisible force held Mike in place, forcing him to helplessly watch the monster kill.

Mike screamed as it killed Nancy, the Dustin and Lucas. One by one it destroyed the people that Mike loved.

It knew that he loved them more than himself and it was determined to break Mike.

"STOP!! STOP PLEASE!!" Mike cried. He was released and fell to the ground, his entire body shaking.

He sobbed into the grass, his chest ached as he screamed.

"How could- y-you??" He asked, his voice wavering as tears rolled down his face.

The creature came close to his face, _I am the definition of everything terrible in the world. You deserve to see everything I can do.. and to know that while I'm doing it with such ease.. you are helpless to do anything._

 _None of these people ever mattered. They were **all** useless pons in **my** game. They never deserved anything you ever did for them.. They were distractions.. They were _**_useless_**

Mike stared at the monster, fury building up inside him. He shakely stood up, his hands twitching.

"Don't you _ever_ say that." Mike said, his voice dangerously low.

 _What?_ It tempted, coming closer.

Mike felt hot tears boil over out of his eyes, "Don't you _ever_ say that they are useless. These were the _best_ people that I have ever known and they all have done so many amazing things for people that they don't even know. You do _not_ have the right to even _think_ about calling them useless because there are only a small amount of _great_ people in this world... and they were apart of that. These people repeatedly risked their lives for everyone and didn't even think _twice_ about it.. These people were strong.. and- and loyal.. and _kind_... I _love_ them more than _anything_..." Mikes' voice broke, his chest ached as his vision blurred.

He wrapped his arms around himself and let the tears fall. He fell to his knees, staring at the ground as all the pain throughout the last two years boiled up inside him. All the memories of his friends flooded around his mind. He watched them blindly pass by as tears continued to fall down his face.

He let out a strangled sob, hugging himself tighter.

That's when he truly broke.

Mike screamed. He let all the pain and sorrow out of him as he screamed and cried at the top of his lungs. He felt a wave of power push out from his chest and barely heard the monster shriek when it disentigrated as the blast spread past him.

His head ached and he could no longer make sense of anything but he continued to scream. All his built up pain and heart break flooded through him.

His voice broke and Mike fell to the ground, sobbing.

He hugged himself tighter as he lay in the wet grass.

He continued to sob, not knowing when it would stop. He had just lost _everyone_ and after everything he's been through, he couldn't take it. He was finally and utterly broken beyond repair.

The dungeon master had lost, and he felt nothing.

 **I totally didn't cry while writing this...**

 **Stay the frick tuned because this is NOT the end ;)**


	43. Chapter 43

**Continued directly from the previous chapter.**

Mike felt nothing. He was empty. He layed on his side, staring blankly at the grass. He closed his eyes, letting out a shaky breath.

Mike felt hands grab his shoulders and jolt him upwards. He heard a low hum as they shouted his name.

Mike cried and pushed them off, his vision blurred.

"MIKE! Look at me!" They yelled, cupping his face.

Mike grabbed their wrists and turned towards them. He gasped.

Now, there is a certain feeling that someone gets when they are completely overwhelemed with emotion. Mike had just had his whole world come crashing down in a matter of seconds... And now he couldn't believe what he was seeing. At first he just stared and then he started sobbing. He cried for the ones he lost. He cried for the people that died that day. He cried because of everything that's happened. But mostly, he fucking sobbed for the people he saw right in front of him.

El gently rubbed her thumb against his cheek, tears in her eyes. Will was to Mike's left, gripping his arm. Lucas was to Mike's right, doing the same. Dustin and Max were on either side of El. Everyone else crowded around them, tears painting their faces.

Mike could barely see his friends, his eyes red and swollen from crying.

He tried to speak but just broke down all over again. El pulled him into a tight hug. Will and Lucas hugged them along with Dustin and Max. They huddled together, silently crying.

Mike buried his head in El's shoulder, trying desperately to hug everyone at once.

After what was most likely forever, they separated so they could all get a good look at eachother.

Mike slowly looked at everyone, searching for any sign of harm upon them.

Will grabbed his hand, "Mike.." He said softly.

Mike looked at him, shaking as he heard his voice.

"We're okay... we're _all_ ok-ay." Will said, his voice wavering as he let out a laugh of relief.

Mike gave a small smile, "I- I saw him kill all of you.. I th-thought I lost you-" Mike said, cutting off as his voice broke.

El held onto his shoulders, "Whatever you did saved us.. saved _everyone_.. It got rid of that- that thing and.. Look-" El said, looking up at the sky.

Mike looked up and gasped.

Stars.

He couldn't remember the last time he saw the stars. Just the stars.. No red clouds or dark figures.. just.. stars.

He breathed out in relief, closing his eyes.

He was exhausted. Mike fell against his friends, his tiredness overtaking him.

 **December 18**

"Mom!" Mike whined as he squirmed around on the staircase.

"Oh one more!! You look so darn cute!" Karen said as she continued taking pictures of her son.

"I have to gooo!" Mike said as he jumped off the staircase.

"Oh alright, have fun and don't do anything stupid!" Karen called after her son as he got on his bike.

Mike propped his bike up in the bike rack once he arrived at school. He turned as he heard his name being called.

"Wheeler!" Lucas yelled as he biked up, Max on the back of his bike.

"Hey guys." Mike said, high fiving Lucas.

Dustin ran out of the school and jumped on Lucas' back.

"Aughh!" Lucas yelled as they fell to the ground.

"Dustin!!" Lucas said as Dustin struggled to get up since he was laughing so hard.

"Dorks." Max laughed as she straightened her curly pony tail. She wore a white polkadot blouse that had flowy sleeves. She paired them with black jeans and red converse.

"Lookin good Max." Dustin said.

Max grinned at him, "Lookin not so bad yourself."

She then linked arms with both Lucas and Dustin and escorted them into the school.

Mike followed them, shaking his head and laughing to himself.

The gym was filled with white and blue streamers and basically anything that glittered. Fake snow covered the gym floor that matched the paper snow flakes hanging from the ceiling.

"They really out did themselves this year." Dustin said as he looked around.

"Guys, over here!" Will called to them, motioning them over to a table.

He wore a dark blue tux, paired with a matching bow tie.

"Lookin snazzy my dude." Dustin commented, straightening his own teal bow tie, which he paired with a black suit.

Lucas nervously smoothed out his black suit, noticing that him and Max were both wearing red converse.

Mike chuckled at Lucas' face as he stared in awe at their feet.

He plopped down in a chair so he could see the door, waiting for El.

Lucas made an awkward squeak sound as the music changed to a slow song.

He turned to Max, red in the face, "H-hey Max.. You wanna uh.. get it on- I mean um go do the thing on the dance flo- no.. uh I mean-" He stuttered, his cheeks flushing.

Max laughed, "Yes I will dance with you." She said as she grabbed his hand and lead him onto the dance floor.

"Smooth!" Dustin called after them.

Dustin turned and looked at Mike and Will, "Imma go find myself a lady... wish me luck!" He said before giving a thumbs up and then disappearing into the crowd.

"He's.. not gonna find someone is he?" Will asked.

"I'll wish him the best of luck... but don't be surprised if we find him by the punch bowl." Mike answered.

Will sat down next to him, "Might as well get comfortable.." He said.

"You're not gonna go find someone to dance with?" Mike asked.

Will shook his head, "I don't.. I don't think I'll be able to find someone... like _me._. I guess, I don't know.. it's dumb." Will stuttered.

"Will... being yourself isn't a bad thing. We're all different. We're all weird, I guess.. in our own ways." Mike said, squeezing his shoulder.

Will bit his lip, "Mike.. you do know I'm bi right?" He asked quietly.

Mike sputtered, "Yeah, dude I've known and it's _okay_. I see you no differently than how I did before I knew." He answered, staring at Will.

Will grinned, "Thanks."

Mike nodded.

Will looked up as someone approached them.

Troy.

"Uh.. hey will?" He asked.

Will stared at him, "Yea?"

"I.. I just want to say that I'm sorry for ever treating you like.. like a weirdo.. I'm sorry for bullying all of you really.. You see you're not that different.. I know that now and I-" Troy began.

"Troy." Will stopped him.

Troy looked at him, the beginning of embarassment etching across his face.

"It's okay... We all did stupid things.. The important thing here is that you apologized." Will said.

Troy nodded, "So... do you wanna go get some punch? I mean slow dances are lame and... yeah.." He said awkwardly.

Will laughed, "Sure." He agreed, following Troy over to the food table.

Mike laughed as he watched his best friend walk away with their former bully.

Mike ran his hand through his curly hair and smoothed out his black tux and straightened his pale blue bow tie. Nancy had picked it out for him since it matched a part of El's dress.

Mike tapped his foot to the music as he stared at the door.

He stood up as Africa started playing and the doors opened.

El walked through, looking like she was glowing. Her hair was curled into big, fluffy curls that framed her face. She had on a white, long sleeved, poofy dress that stopped above her ankles. She paired them with pale blue flats and a matching ribbon that wrapped around her waist and formed a bow off to the side.

She looked around in awe at the gym and her face brightened once she saw Mike.

She quickly made her way over to him, her dress bouncing as she did.

He met her on the dance floor, reaching for her hand.

She took it and stared at him.

"You look beautiful." He said, not able to take his eyes off of her.

She smiled and looked down at her feet.

"So.. do you want to dance?" Mike asked.

"I.. I honestly have no idea how." She answered.

"Neither do I... want to figure it out together?" He asked.

She nodded and he smiled as he lead her on to the dance floor.

"So you put your hands here..." He lifted her hands up onto his shoulders and then he placed his hands on her waist.

"Like this?" She asked.

Mike smiled, "Yeah.. like this."

They swayed and twirled around and around, not a care in the world. And for once, they felt completely and utterly happy. No more monsters.. no more lab or bad men.. just them and the snowball.

Mike looked at El, taking in every aspect of her face.

She stared back, memorising every freckle, not daring to look away.

Mike felt his cheeks flush as he leaned forward and kissed her. She stood up on the tips of her toes and leaned into it, taking in every second of it.

Mike pulled away gently and stared at her.

"I love you." He said.

She smiled, "I love you too."

The music seemed to grow louder, drawing out everyone else around them. El pressed her forehead against Mike's and leaned closer to him, her fingers playing with her hair.

Mike wrapped his arms around her, closing off the space between them.

He realised that they may only be teenagers, but he understood that he was utterly in love with her.

And he needed her.

 **And THAT my lovelies concludes the ending of "We need her"! I am so frickin proud of this and going back to the first chapter, I've been able to see my growth and honestly I couldn't have done it without you guys! Your reviews made me so happy and motivated and I really, REALLY hope you read the sequel!! The sequel will be called: "The time in between" so PLEASE look out for that!! Love you guys, BYE!!!**


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